June 28, 2007

Leave it to Beavan, who likes golf, rap & fishing
20 THINGS ABOUT TOP DRAFT PICK BLAKE BEAVAN
By TRAE THOMPSON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

By now, many baseball fans know about Blake Beavan's talent.

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound right-hander from Irving High was drafted by the Rangers with the 17th pick in the first round.

Beavan was virtually unhittable as a senior, going 8-2 with an 0.21 ERA. He had 124 strikeouts in 66 innings, and struck out 18 of 21 batters in a perfect game against Irving MacArthur.

But there's a lot more that fans don't know about him. Here are 20 things you might not have known:

1 Baseball isn't the only sport Beavan played. He was a junior varsity quarterback for Irving as a sophomore and was going to be the varsity starter as a junior before he decided to concentrate on baseball. He also played basketball and loved paintball. He used to go with his older brothers and friends into the woods in Irving for paintball. They split into teams and "would tear it up," he said.

2 Beavan is a city kid who loves the country. He and his friends go to a ranch in Kaufman County to fish, swim and "eat like kings." His biggest catches? A 10-pound bass and 18-pound catfish. "I love getting away and coming to the ranch and just hanging with my friends in the middle of nowhere and just looking at the stars and stuff," he said.

3 Beavan enjoys rap, country and rock music. His favorite rappers are Lil' Wayne, T-Payne and Akon. For country, Beavan prefers Tim McGraw and George Strait, and his favorite rock groups are Nickelback, Staind and Incubus.

4 Beavan says the best athlete he has ever seen is also an Irving graduate: Cowboys running back Tyson Thompson. Beavan was a ballboy for Irving when Thompson was a running back there. "I've never seen anybody run like he did," Beavan said. "He was a tremendous athlete. If he found a hole up the middle, he was gone." After crossing paths recently, Beavan said Thompson remembered him.

5 Beavan has a three-year plan to reach the majors. "My goal is to dominate A ball, and every part of the minor leagues," he said. "I'm not one of those who if you rush up too quick, [will] blow up the first day and then quit. I've got a competitive nature. I've got that mind-set that if you hit me and rock me, good job. I'm going to come back and do better. I'm not going to sit and weep."

6 Anyone who saw news clips from Beavan's house the day he was drafted probably noticed everyone in the background. "We had about 200 people there," Beavan said. "My dad had barbecue catered over at the house. It was real tight."

7 Beavan never went to a Rangers game at Arlington Stadium, and his first at the new ballpark came in the 1990s, when he was 6 or 7. "I just looked at all these big humongous giants," he said. "I thought about how cool it would be to be like them, have their lifestyle.... Looking at those kids younger than you, you're like their hero or role model."

8 Though he hasn't signed, Beavan already knows how he'll first spend his money. "The first thing I'm going to do is get me an Escalade truck, an EXT 08. Then, I'll pay off our house for mom and them. That's a big chunk. Then pay off the car payments. They told me the money I earned with my hard work, they wanted me to spend the money how I wanted to and [told me] that they're just along for the ride."

9 Beavan enjoys watching some other pitchers. One is Cole Green, a former summer league teammate and Coppell graduate who has signed with the University of Texas. "He's going to be good, and he'll get drafted. He's definitely a competitor, and we're good friends."

10 Beavan plans to live in Texas once he reaches the majors. "I want to get to Double A quickly so I can get an apartment in Frisco," he said. "It's only 30 minutes from back home. The first step is getting there, so everybody can come watch me."

11 Beavan wasn't surprised to see so many teammates from the U.S. Junior National Team drafted early. Beavan was one of five taken in the top 22 picks. "They're top of the line," he said. "Everybody on that team knew we could start for any college out there -- a Division I team on Friday night." Beavan said one guy to keep an eye on is shortstop Christian Colon, who was drafted in the 10th round by the San Diego Padres. Colon has also signed with Cal State Fullerton. "He's going to be real good," Beavan said. "He'll probably be like another A-Rod, only better. That would be cool."

12 Beavan grew four inches between his freshman and sophomore years (6-1 to 6-5). Beavan's pediatrician came within an inch of predicting his current height of 6-7.

13 Irving coach Brett Parham says Beavan threw in the 90s as a freshman -- in the South Grand Prairie tournament, striking out Denton Ryan center fielder Austin Jackson on three pitches (two fastballs and a slider). There wasn't a radar gun there, but, "I guarantee you those two fastballs were 93-94 mph," said Parham, who coached Beavan for three years.

14 That game against Denton Ryan also marked the first time Beavan was seen by a major league scout, who happened to be there to see Austin Jackson. "A scout from the New York Yankees asked whose dad belonged to this kid," said Michele Beavan, Blake's mother. "He didn't know he was a freshman."

15 Beavan's only win as a freshman also was the only win for Irving, which went 1-23 that year.

16 Parham wasn't surprised that Beavan was a first-round pick. Parham thought Beavan could've been a top 10 pick. Like others, Parham heard how Beavan's stock soared after shutting out Cuba last summer at the World Junior Championships. But "probably his sophomore year, I was like, 'If he keeps getting as good as he's got this quick, he's got a shot,'" Parham said. "His junior year, there was no doubt."

17 Beavan isn't loosey-goosey on the mound. "He's pretty much locked in," his mom said. "He's super competitive. When he gets back to the dugout, he roots for everybody, but, when he's out on the mound, he's tunneled."

18 As a kid, Beavan was nicknamed "Beaver" because his older brother's friends always misspelled his last name.

19 Beavan had signed with Oklahoma, and it was the second consecutive year that the Sooners had signed a highly projected draft pick. Outfielder Devin Shepherd was drafted in the fifth round by Minnesota in 2006, but is no longer on the team.

20 Right now, golf might be Beavan's sport of choice outside of baseball. "He's got the worst slice in the history of golf, and you can put that in," cracked Blake's older brother, Wes Beavan, 29, who lives in Irving. "He's got a 100-yard slice; I'm not kidding. Other than that, he's pretty decent. He's got a good short game. It's just getting to the fairway off the tee with his driver. Dogleg rights he's amazing. Dogleg lefts, he comes up to the tee and is like, 'Oh man.' He's already out of it."