Clayton Beeter proves Yankees right in Joey Gallo trade

Saturday September 17, 2022

The Yankees traded Joey Gallo at the summer deadline for pitching prospect Clayton Beeter. Fans too vehemently wanted the team to get rid of the left fielder who had a nightmare tenure in The Bronx. As Beter is performing well in Double-A, the deal looks to be going in the Yankees’ way.

Joey Gallo had a career batting line of .159/.291/.368 with the Yankees. The 28-year-old player was able to hit 25 homers in 140 games during his New York stay. He also had 194 strikeouts in 140 games with the Yankees.

The Yankees got Joey Gallo from Texas after trading four prospects. However, the player received an overwhelming majority of jeers from the Bronx crowd, compared to cheers.

The Yankees sent the left fielder to the LA Dodgers on August 2 in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Clayton Beeter, which is now New York’s No. 9 prospect.

It’s too early to say who will win, but Gallo has returned to his usual bad form since joining the Dodgers, while Clayton Beeter has shown some promise as a pitcher in Double-A Somerset.

Beeter made his last regular season start for Double-A on Friday. He threw five innings with no runs scored, seven strikeouts, and only two hits. Since the trade, Beeter has made seven starts and has a 2.13 ERA. He has struck out 41 batters in 25.1 innings.

Clayton Beeter has made a big step forward since his performance with Double-A Tulsa. The right-hander had an ERA of 5.75 in 18 games (51.2 innings) with the Los Angeles affiliate.

Beeter’s biggest challenge will be to take another step forward in 2023, making the jump to Triple-A and beyond while continuing to improve. He has a very good chance to get an MLB cap next year, as the Yankees lack adequate pitching depth. Many of their backup pitchers, including J.P. Sears, Ken Waldichuk, and Hayden Wesneski, are no more with them.

Also, Clayton Beeter holds the best rank after Will Warren among all pitching prospects currently with the Yankees. That means people will have high hopes for him as he moves up the ladder.

New York’s pitching staff has an excellent track record of getting the best out of their pitchers, both young and old. Again, Clayton Beeter’s seven starts in Double-A are not enough to say he knows how to help his new team, but it’s a good start.

After getting off to a good start in Los Angeles, Gallo is countering a bad patch again. The player in left field is at bat. In 31 games with the Dodgers, he hit .165/.276/.400 with five home runs and 16 RBI. In 85 at-bats, he has struck out 39 times, giving him a 39.8 strikeout rate. That’s more than what the Yankees paid in 2021 and 2022.

Remember that no matter what the Yankees signed, they had to get rid of Gallo. Getting this kind of high-upside arm back is a win for them. The prospects they gave to the Rangers who are already helping them are a loss they struggle to cover.

What do you think about Clayton Beeter? Is he a Yankee star in waiting?