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Pronunciation appears to be Bee-AH-toe.
Here's an article about Pedro from today's Newark Star Ledger:
Mets pitcher Pedro Beato's live arm drawing rave reviews
Published: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 10:38 PM
By Andy McCullough/The Star-Ledger
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A live arm, that most precious commodity in baseball, allows men to dream. It causes coaches and front-office members to cram behind a backstop on a sticky Florida afternoon to watch a leisurely session of live batting practice. A live arm creates excitement.
Today, a crowd of Mets officials gathered on Field 5 to see where Pedro Beato, a Rule 5 draft pick, might fit in the future plans of the organization. Beato, a 24-year-old, hard-throwing reliever from Brooklyn, has piqued the curiosity so far this spring. Inside the clubhouse at Digital Domain Park, you hear his name often.
“I’ve seen an outstanding arm,” manager Terry Collins said.
“He throws all of his pitches hard,” catcher Josh Thole said.
Because he was a Rule 5 pick, Beato’s timetable this spring is accelerated. The Mets must offer him back to his former club, Baltimore, if he does not make the 25-man roster. When Grapefruit League games begin this weekend, Beato (2.11 ERA in Double A last season) will be tested. Conclusions cannot be drawn until then.
But Beato fits within the mold of Collins’ prototypical bullpen. Collins emphasizes pitchers with weapons over pitchers who fit certain roles. Again and again, he mentions his love of stuff. Into the wide-open bullpen competition strides Beato, a 6-6 righty who the Mets tried to draft in 2005.
He throws four-seam and two-seam fastballs, cutters, curveballs and changeups. Collins complimented the break of his curveball. First baseman Ike Davis noted the sink of his two-seamer. Beato cautioned that he won’t hit his top velocity, 97 mph, until adrenaline floods his system during the season. He believes in his pitches.
“I throw them all,” he said. “It depends on the situation.”
In times like these, the dilemma is context. With Beato, the casual observer marvels at the velocity of his fastball, the snap of his breaking ball. The practiced eye sees more.
Beato, as far as pitching coach Dan Warthen can tell, must work on “maintaining his delivery. He’s getting a little jumpy right now.” Warthen noted that Beato is “still inconsistent with his release points, his landing right now.”
You cannot see those mistakes right now. But during a game, for example, an improper release point could cause his two-seamer to rise instead of sink, then drift back into the barrel of a bat.
Warthen chalked the inconsistencies up to youth, the rustiness of spring and Beato’s excitement at rejoining his hometown team.
In the summer of 2005, the Mets drafted Beato out of Xaverian High in Brooklyn. He was a 15th-round pick. A deal was not struck, so Beato spent a season at St. Petersburg College, a junior college in Florida. The year there aided him: Baltimore inked him to a $1 million bonus as a first-rounder in 2006.
Groomed as a starter, Beato stumbled through the Orioles minor-league system, struggling in Maryland outposts like Delmarva and Frederick Keys. The organization moved him to the bullpen for the 2010 season. He slashed two runs from his career ERA.
Still, the Orioles left him unprotected. The Mets now must decide whether Beato is worth keeping.
“I’m not going to come here thinking in my head that I’ve got a spot because I got Rule 5’d,” Beato said. “Or I’m going to lay back and just let things happen. So I’m just going to work hard every day and bust my behind to win my spot.” |
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