Oakland A's Prospect Preview: Austin Beck

*cold open*

A dose of realism: Center fielder Austin Beck should start this season with a challenge assignment to the Double-A Midland RockHounds. But if he doesn't...

*hit the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC0v7NATIXk&t" target="blank" >theme song!*_

Previously in these previews, we met:

• Ace right-hander Jeff Criswell, the top pitcher below Triple-A in the system
• Slugging catcher Kyle McCann, who possesses the most power in the system
• Power-hitting shortstop Jeremy Eierman, who has shown the flair for the dramatic
• All-around shortstop Logan Davidson, poised for a huge breakout season

Lots of cheering in the draft room when the commissioner announced Beck's name. Big-time talent!

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) June 12, 2017

Instead of starting with Austin Beck growing up, tearing his ACL and meniscus in high school, coming back from that injury, flying up draft boards, and going in the top ten in 2017 to Oakland, let's work in reverse, beginning with how he's regarded entering this season.

Baseball America places Beck as the A's 13th best prospect (note: link leads behind a paywall) in its 2021 Prospect Handbook, noting that "Beck boasts impressive athleticism across the board, highlighted by his potential plus raw power, plus arm strength and plus speed, the latter of which allows him to play an above-average center field. Beck has lightning-fast hands at the plate, which can sometimes work against him when he struggles to keep his bat in the strike zone long enough to make contact... Beck hasn't lived up to his draft status, but he has consistently been young for his level and didn't have a long track record against top pitching as an amateur."

Beck ranks as Keith Law's No. 15 prospect in the Athletics organization. Law writes, "Sometimes bat speed is a double-edged sword. Beck’s bat is so fast that it’s in and out of the zone too quickly, and he doesn’t have the pitch recognition or hand-eye to get the bat head to the ball often enough to counteract that. He’s a plus defender in center now with a cannon of an arm, and there is raw power in there if he can ever get to it, but he has to show he can hit and so far that hasn’t happened anywhere."

It's important to start here to indicate that those great tools, the tools that scouts dreamed on four years ago -- batspeed, power, arm, defense -- have not gone anywhere, they're still right there, on display, on a nightly basis.

MLB Pipeline places Beck as the A's 18th-best prospect, writing, "Beck has struggled to live up to the high expectations that were placed on him. His combination of a strikeout rate over 34 percent in 2019 and inconsistent power in games at the pro level has hindered him at the High-A level. But the A’s still believe they have a good player in Beck, it’s just a matter of figuring it all out. He does have premium bat speed and worked hard on calming down in the box with the confidence that if he can make more contact, the power will naturally come. Although it doesn’t necessarily show up in the stolen base numbers, Beck has very good speed. It helps him play strong defense in center field, a spot where he has also shown a solid arm. He’s still young, and there are still some tools he’s working to unlock."

There are plenty of outfield prospects in the Oakland system, with Luis Barrera, Greg Deichmann and Cody Thomas likely starting the season at Triple-A, Buddy Reed likely opening in Double-A, and the more inexperienced Michael Guldberg and young Brayan Buelvas, Junior Pérez and Pedro Piñeda working up through the lower levels.

Beck and prospect left fielder Lazaro Armenteros (Baseball America's No. 29 A's prospect) are caught in between. Both played for the Low-A Beloit Snappers in 2018, with Beck slashing .296/.335/.383 and Armenteros hitting .277/.374/.401. Beck led the team with 29 doubles, but only hit two homers and struck out 117 times in 123 games. Armenteros hit eight homers and struck out 115 times in 79 games. The problems then became exacerbated in 2019 with High-A Stockton: Beck whiffed 126 times in 85 games, knocking eight homers and slashing .251/.302/.411, with his season limited by a quad injury; Armenteros fanned 227 times in 126 games, with 17 homers and a .222/.336/.403 slash line. Neither one was invited to the Alternate Site during Summer Camp 2020.

The question thus becomes: With the clean slate offered by the 2021 season, do the A's push one or both outfielders up to Double-A Midland to sink or swim, for better or for worse.

The case for Oakland to play it conservatively is clear. Austin Beck, specifically, has not lived up to the expectations that fall on a No. 6 pick in the draft. One would hope that he was ready for the next level by now, developing at a rate that would put him on pace to join the A's outfield in 2023, but his performance thus far and omission from the Alternate Site would lead to the conclusion that he isn't.

This is where Lansing comes in. Jackson Field is spacious in center and the alleys, allowing Beck to put his superb defensive ability on display in the same manner that such center fielders as Kevin Pillar, Jake Marisnick, Dalton Pompey and Reggie Pruitt have done before him. It is also a great hitter's park that helps considerably with confidence, leading to breakout campaigns. The strikeouts, due to Beck's bat speed and lack of pitch recognition, hurt him here, as they do Lazaro Armenteros and the previously previewed Kyle McCann and Jeremy Eierman -- a lack of ability to put the ball in play stops these hitters from taking advantage of Jackson Field's benefits.

Now, that's Where It's At.#Athletics No. 5 prospect Austin Beck reached in all five of his plate appearances and came around to score five runs last night for Class A Advanced Stockton.

🔥: https://t.co/jrpnp8Zbhp pic.twitter.com/JlR2UiscK0

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 28, 2019

And that's where we circle back around to the very first point: It would be a hit to Beck's ego to return to what was the Midwest League and is now the High-A Central, and to go through High-A ball again after previously serving a season in High-A in 2019. It would make sense for the A's to push him to Double-A, keeping him on track of moving up a season every year of his time in the minors.

But it might be better for Beck's career overall to come to Lansing to open 2021, just as it has benefitted so many players over the past 24 years.