Seth Beer heads to the Houston Astros’ Class A full season Quad Cities affiliate after having been the team’s first-round draft pick earlier this month. His quick promotion happens exactly two weeks after he signed his Houston contract, and it’s likely that Beer can “barley” contain his excitement.

The left-handed power hitter was promoted from the short-season Class A Tri-City ValleyCats to the Midwest League Quad Cities River Bandits on Wednesday, June 27.

Related: ValleyCats Win 2018 NY-Penn League Championship and Buies Creek Astros (with Beer on the roster) Take 2018 Carolina League Title

In 11 games with Tri-City, Beer hit .293 (12-for-41) with four home runs, three doubles, and seven RBIs. He also had six walks to contribute to a 1.090 OPS.

At Tri-City, Beer started four games at first base and four games in left field, consistent with Houston’s system-wide mandate for defensive flexibility.

Ironically, scouts thought little of the 21-year-old’s infield or outfield glove coming out of Clemson, so work continues for Beer to increase his projectability as more than just an American League designated hitter.

In his final season at Clemson, Beer hit .301 with 22 home runs and 54 RBIs.

Even so, Beer’s early all-hit/no-field tag, together with his early success and continued progression, might point to a possible September call-up.

Beer All Around

With roster expansion an annual September event, the notion that a valuable roster spot could be occupied by a player not likely to be given a glove (and with Houston’s defense in no need of bolstering) becomes a lot more palatable.

Plus, while Beer is a valuable new asset, he’s far from the precious, all-around, highly-ranked prospect that someone like Kyle Tucker is. Houston’s top-ranked position player is certainly handling his current AAA Fresno Grizzlies tenure with confidence and proficiency, and actively awaits what many think is an imminent call-up.

Using tea leaves and star-gazing, the Astros seem to be handling Tucker’s promotion with the care and dexterity usually reserved for the fork-lifting of unboxed Wedgwood. Houston will see no need to handle Beer with such kid gloves.

Finding a Franchise Comp

Longtime Astros fans will remember Cliff Johnson (1972-1977), the hulking 6’4″ 225-pound stereotypical right-handed power hitter. He, too, struggled at a variety of defensive positions (C, 1B, OF), and thus, became an exclusive pinch-hitter. He excelled, later on in his career, solely as a designated hitter for AL teams like Cleveland, Oakland, Texas, Toronto, and the Yankees.

But, Beer would seem to align, more accurately, with left-handed hitting Denny Walling, coincidentally also from Clemson, and a first-round draft pick by Oakland in 1975. Obtained by Houston in 1977 with cash for OF Willie Crawford, Walling, like Beer is taking a stab at, was mainly a corner infielder and corner outfielder.

Beer is 6’3″, 195, while Walling played at 6’1″, 185.

With 343 pinch-hit appearances in his 12-year career with the Astros (1977-1988, three games in 1992), Walling came to the rescue many times late in games for the pitcher or a position player. For Houston, Walling compiled a .277 BA, 125 doubles, 30 triples, and 47 homers.

Similar to Beer’s keen eye at the plate (second in the nation in walks, with 1.02 walks per game in 2017), Walling had an amazing 14 more walks in Astro orange than strikeouts (281-267).

What’s On Tap?

For Seth Beer to make an appearance for the September run at the postseason, he’ll have to keep his progression on pace, which means a stop at Advanced-A Buies Creek and the AA Corpus Christi Hooks following this current stint at Quad Cities, trips that can easily be made successively through August.

If he rakes through those levels, he wouldn’t “need” to pass through AAA Fresno, especially for an MLB debut focused on just his offensive talents. Astros brass will just need to be convinced that he can handle major league pitching.