Seth Beer, Astros agree to deal
The Astros on Wednesday announced they have signed Seth Beer. Beer was selected with the 28th overall pick in this year's MLB Draft. Beer flew into Houston and signed his contract and will begin his pro career at Class A Short-Season Tri-City.
The Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias said, "Seth Beer has been college baseball's premier slugger for the past three years; his resume speaks for itself. We feel his productivity will translate well to the professional game and see him as a potential impact bat for our lineup. We are delighted to add Seth to what is already one of baseball's strongest farm systems."
Beer hit .301 with 22 homers, 54 RBIs and a .456 on-base percentage in his junior year at Clemson. He walked 54 times and struck out just 36 times in showing remarkable plate discipline.
During his career at Clemson, he drew 180 walks and struck out 98 times in 188 games.
"I'm excited to get out to Houston and see what's going on in the town," Beer told MLB.com on Saturday. "I've never been to Texas before but I'm really excited to make the journey out there. I'm just really excited to get it going and do whatever I can to help the organization."
As a freshman at Clemson in 2016, Beer hit .369 with 18 homers, 13 doubles, 70 RBIs, 57 runs, 62 walks, 15 hit by pitches, a .535 on-base percentage and a .700 slugging percentage in 62 games. He became the first freshman to win the Dick Howser Trophy presented to the national player of the year.