While SS Tim Beckham was tabbed for greatness the second Tampa Bay announced that they would go with him at No. 1, the White Sox were sitting on their haunches, ready to strike. With the eighth pick in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft, the ChiSox went with Gordon Beckham. Gordon shares a surname and position with Tim Beckham—but not much else.
The 21-year-old White Sox prospect produced in limited action last year for the White Sox Class A affiliate, the Kannapolis Intimidators. He batted at a .310 clip with three home runs, 18 total hits, an OBP of .365, and 11 runs scored-all in 58 at-bats (14 games). Beckham projects to be adequate defensively with a ton of pop.
He dented metal bats in college from how hard he'd smack the ball.
Beckham was invited to White Sox training camp for evaluation. He made an impact with Chicago, batting .270 with two home runs in 37 at-bats. The number that jumped out was his commendable .568 slugging percentage. The White Sox have optioned him to the Birmingham Barons, their AA affiliate, where he will start at shortstop.
This would indicate that Gordon Beckham is just two years away from the Majors. While realistically, two years is a long time to wait, this is auspicious for the South Siders. They will have some problems placing Chris Getz, Alexei Ramirez, and Beckham all in the same infield, but that's a much better problem than some other teams have.
Anderson Hernandez or Ronnie Belliard at second base? Now that's a problem. Then again, that's the Nationals. It isn't fair to make fun of the Nationals. Apologies, fans of the DC crew.
I project that Beckham will hit .290 with 25-35 home runs in his prime. Beckham should have no trouble fitting into Ozzie Guillen's 'Swing For The Fences At All Costs' lineup. Think Dan Uggla with more hype and a much better batting average.
Coming soon to a ballpark nearest you, the other Beckham. The better one?
Tim Beckham has his work cut out for him.
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