Unheralded KC Royals pitching prospect turning heads with shutdown High-A outings

While the Kansas City Royals' mindset and leadership changes years ago revealed more immediate impacts, the change was more slow rolling down the farm. After all, a new front office cannot just undo years of development and drafting to accommodate a new mindset or mold.

That is why when the Royals moved on from Lonnie Goldberg overseeing Kansas City's amateur drafts, the change in ideology took a while to take hold. The early players in that process are in the minors' lower levels, which is why so many prospect hounds are watching the Low-A Columbia Fireflies and High-A Quad Cities River Bandits in 2025. If fans tune in to that elite River Bandits rotation, there is a 2024 draftee standing head and shoulders above his peers so far this season.

Enter Drew Beam.

KC Royals fans should know the name Drew Beam, and his 2025 start proves that.

After a standout career at Tennessee—capping off a College World Series title and a stint on the 2023 USA Collegiate National Team—the Royals grabbed right-hander Drew Beam in the third round of the 2024 draft. Now Beam’s championship pedigree is on full display with the River Bandits.

Beam's first five professional starts have gone swimmingly, posting a 3.20 ERA and striking out 22 batters across 25 1/3 innings of work. Most of those runs came in a rough debut, allowing five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings back on Apr. 5 against the Peoria Chiefs. Since then, Beam hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in a start and worked at least five innings each time. He had a measure of revenge against Peoria on Apr. 23, when he recorded his second consecutive quality start and fanned four batters while allowing only five baserunners.

Beam's success so far is a testament to his workhorse starter approach. It is that mindset that made Beam standout on draft day to the Royals.

“I’m sort of shocked that he lasted to the third round--that was the first thing that jumped out at me after watching him compete in spring training,” Royals senior director of pitching performance Paul Gibson said. “He’s a really strong competitor. He has great baseball intellect and feel on the mound. And he’s a great kid off the field as well. Really well-rounded, takes care of his business, and when he’s on the mound for his starts, he’s very well-prepared. He’s not afraid of the strike zone at all. We’re really excited about how he’s getting off to a good start.”

He may not overpower opponents with pure stuff, but Beam fills up the strike zone with a solid four-pitch mix and limits the free baserunners. He can easily switch between his four-seam and two-seam fastballs, sitting comfortably in the mid-90s range. His higher armslot makes his curveball and changeup play up, and while neither consistently induces whiffs, they do land in the zone plenty and create soft contact for those easy outs.

“Really, my game is about attacking the zone, being a strike-thrower,” Beam said. “I don’t overpower guys. I more just use the ability I have to throw in the zone, get guys out quickly with soft contact.”

In a loaded rotation featuring 2021 first-round pick Frank Mozzicato and 2023 late-round gem Logan Martin, Beam's start and overall floor make him shine brighter. The Nashville native is only 22 years old, but already looks more polished than his High-A competition and has the foundation to see him rise through Kansas City's system quickly.

Beam looks like a future lower-rotation starter after some years of seasoning down on the farm, but his current profile feels like many current Royals starters. If he can expand the arsenal more or fine-tune that slurvy curveball, then Beam will be a name to watch even closer in the years to come.