Drew Beam was a key cog of Tennessee’s pitching staff on its road to a Men’s College World Series title. Now the right-hander hopes to make an impact for the up-and-coming Kansas City Royals.
Beam was one of the first selections on Day 2 of Major League Baseball’s amateur draft Monday as he was taken with the second pick of the third round at No. 76 overall by the Royals. The second day consisted of rounds three through 10.
Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana went to the Cleveland Guardians with the No. 1 overall pick Sunday.
College prospects were once again much more popular with MLB teams compared with their prep counterparts, with 23 players in the third round attending four-year colleges while six were drafted out of high school. In the fourth round, 27 out of the 30 selections came from colleges.
Wake Forest had two more players — pitchers Josh Hartle and Michael Massey — selected Monday after three Demon Deacons were taken in the first round. Beam was one of eight Tennessee players selected through the draft’s first two days.
Beam was the workhorse for Tennessee’s pitching staff with a 9-2 record and 4.22 ERA, striking out 99 batters over a team-high 102⅓ innings. He gave up just two runs over nine innings in two appearances at the College World Series.
The Royals took another Tennessee pitcher, AJ Causey, in the fifth round.
It’s not uncommon for MLB teams to unearth star players in the later rounds of the draft. Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan — who will bat leadoff for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game — was taken in the fifth round of the 2018 draft out of Oregon State. Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, who will start at second base for the AL, was a sixth-round selection in 2011 from Cal.
