FORT MYERS, Fla. – It took only six appearances at Perfect Game events over the past 18 months for North Carolina outfielder Austin Beck to establish himself as a national top-20 prospect in the high school graduating class of 2017.
A sophomore at North Davidson High School in Lexington, N.C., who calls Clemmons, N.C., home, Beck enjoyed breakout 2014 PG summer and fall seasons playing in tournaments for the North Carolina-based Dirtbags. He then asserted himself admirably at the Atlantic Coast Underclass Showcase in August to rise to No. 20 in the national rankings.
Now, in these days between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, Beck is eager to show he has the tools required to continue to climb that ladder, and he’s doing it at the PG National Underclass Showcase-Main Event in perfect weather at the balmy JetBlue Park Player Development Complex.
“It feels good to be out here; it feels good to be one of the top prospects out here, too,” Beck told PG Monday morning before joining his PG Gold. “It’s 30 degrees in North Carolina right now so you really can’t do too much outside. I try to work-out every day at school and then come home and hopefully run, if it feels good outside. I look forward to getting a good work-out in.”
Beck is at this event with about 500 other prospects from the high school classes of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, and is the highest ranked among the 2017s. He is the country’s No. 2-ranked outfield prospect in his class; coincidentally, No. 8 outfield prospect Darius Foster from Georgia (No. 48 overall) and No. 11 outfielder Brad Czerniejewski out of Illinois (No. 70 overall) are also at this event.
This event marks the first time Beck has seen live pitching in months. His performance during Sunday’s workout session was quite impressive, however, as he ran a 6.58-second 60-yard dash (third best at the event) and threw 90 mph from the outfield (tied for fourth best). His batting practice session also went well, prompting a PG scout to blog:
“(Beck) already has committed to North Carolina and his 6.58 speed and 90 mph arm strength attest to his base athletic skills. His right-handed swing is a bit on the long side but he has present bat speed with quick hands to start his swing.”
“The basic thing is getting down here and playing against the best competition there is. That’s the only way you get any better, is playing good competition,” his father, Jeff Beck, told PG Monday morning. “That, and we wanted to get him seen. He’s already committed to college but to be able to play in front of pro scouts, it’s good to get him out in front of them early, too. We can get an idea of what he can do.
“I think it’s very important that he’s here, otherwise we wouldn’t spend the money to come do this type of thing,” Jeff continued. “It’s well worth the money at his age to get down to these things. And it’s perfect down here because we’ve been cold (in North Carolina). It’s really limited (the ballplayers’) ability to get out and do things because it’s been in the 30s back home.”
Beck, who turned 16 in late November, played in three PG WWBA tournaments with Andy Partin and the Dirtbags this summer and fall, and was named to the all-tournament team at the 15u Perfect Game World Series and the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship.
“They’re a great group of guys, great group of coaches,” Beck said of the Dirtbags organization. “They try to showcase every talent that every player has. I love playing for Andy. He’s an awesome guy.”
He also attended the Atlantic Coast Underclass Showcase Aug. 15-17 in Kannapolis, N.C. – his first PG showcase experience – and represented himself nicely, setting an event record in the 60-yard dash with a time of 6.52-seconds while also throwing 91 mph from the outfield.
Beck was named the event’s top 2017 prospect and his scouting report was glowing:
“Beck is a freak on the field, possessing plus tool across the board. (He) turned in the most impressive workout results over the weekend, running the 60 in 6.52-seconds and throwing 91 from the outfield. His BP was very loud as he drove the ball all over the park. He gets great extension and leverage from his medium frame. The ceiling for Beck is very high as he continues to mature.”
Some of the biggest challenges young prospects face coming into an event like the PG National Underclass Showcase-Main Event in the dead of winter spring up from the mental side of the game. Weeks of inactivity can sometimes lead to lack of focus, although the top guys like Beck never seem to miss a beat. They perform at high level regardless of their age and regardless of where the calendar is turned.
“This is something that I thought he had the ability to (achieve) but I didn’t think it would be as early as it has,” Jeff Beck said Monday. “I thought this might come closer to his junior or senior year, I didn’t realize it would start going into his freshman year and so on.”
Clemmons is a city of about 19,000 located near North Carolina’s famed Tobacco Road region and is actually considered a suburb of Winston-Salem. “It’s a small little town but everybody know each other, so it’s good,” Beck said. “It’s a good baseball town.”
Beck said he has always been a big baseball guy – “I love the game; always have” – although he previously played basketball and football before setting those sports aside to concentrate on the game he lives and breathes.
A current big league prospect Beck tries to emulate is former Dirtbag and 2008 PG National Showcase alumnus Levi Michael, who graduated from North Davidson High School in 2009. Michael ended up at UNC and it was from Chapel Hill that the Minnesota Twins snatched him up in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft. Michael has played parts of the last three minor league seasons right here in Fort Myers with the Twins’ high-A affiliate, the Miracle.
Jeff Beck (not to be confused with the Rock & Roll Hall Fame bass player by the same name) said he and his son follow the PG rankings and scouting reports regularly in an effort to determine where they need to be to put Austin in the best position to raise the scouting community’s awareness of him. Jeff also likes the viewing from a historical perspective.
“We look at past guys, like some of the guys that are in the major leagues now, what they did when they were his age and compare him to where they were when they were his age, as far as the speed and the throwing and the hitting and stuff like that,” he said.
Beck attended a couple of UNC camps as an eighth- and ninth-grader and the Carolina coaching staff must have like what it saw; they offered him a scholarship shortly after the conclusion of his freshman high school season. “I’ve always been a Carolina fan,” he said.
With the college recruiting process already in his rearview mirror, it may not seem necessary for a player of Beck’s high standing to continue to attend showcase events, at least not until MLB attention becomes more intense. Jeff Beck, however, sees value in everything, especially when a young man strives to continue to climb that prospect ladder.
“I think this is a great opportunity for these kids to be able to get the teachings that they get from the mentors that they’re around, and the ability to get out play against guys from all over the United States like this,” Jeff said. “When we were growing up you didn’t have that; you were lucky if you played somebody the next county over.
“I hope (Austin) learns from it and can correct things that he needs to correct,” he concluded. “And just whatever little bit he can pick up to help him in his game, I hope he can do that, too.”