The Royals acquired Beck Way as part of a trio of arms received in the Andrew Benintendi trade. At the time, he looked like perhaps the best arm of the bunch. Since then, he’s started to find struggles in his command. The pure stuff in his arsenal is impressive, but he’s been limited by the amount of walks allowed. The start of 2023 was an entirely new level of difficulty for Way, as he navigated his first attempt at Double-A. He got shelled for an ERA near seven. Between the walks and hits, it seemed he was always navigating men on base.

Season Stats:

2021 (Low-A): 15 G, 47.0 IP, 2.68 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 27.7% K%, 14.9% BB%

2021 (High-A): 4 G, 16.1 IP, 7.71 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 38.7% K%, 12.0% BB%

2022 (High-A — NYY): 15 G, 72.1 IP, 3.73 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 27.6% K%, 9.0% BB%

2022 (High-A — KCR): 7 G, 35.2 IP, 3.79 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 30.7% K%, 11.1% BB%

2023 (AA): 28 G, 79.2 IP, 6.67 ERA, 6.29 FIP, 20.7% K%, 16.3% BB%

2023 was tough for Way, who started the year in the rotation but later moved his way to the bullpen in relief. At over 16%, Way walked more batters than any other season of his pro career. At the same time, he struck out a career-low 20.7% of hitters for the Naturals. It was by all accounts the worst season of his pro career to date. Seeing the season numbers, it would be easy to discount Way as a former notable prospect with no real future in the big leagues. However, I’m not so sure that’s the case.

Way’s stuff is still impressive. He touched the upper 90s with his fastball as a starter. That could probably get a touch higher even if moved to relief full-time. Alongside the heater, way commands an impressive 60-grade slider that has good movement and bite and keeps hitters missing. Over shorter stints as a single-inning reliever, that combination can be devastating to opposing hitters. In fact, we already saw it happen. In 2023 as a starter, Way finished the year with a 9.23 ERA and a 2.20 WHIP. Over 11 appearances as a reliever, his ERA was down to 1.93 and his WHIP was 0.96. There’s still hope for Way as a relief prospect and an outside chance that he can get back on track as a starter as well.

Scouting Grades:

Fastball: 60/65

Slider: 65/65

Changeup: 40/40

Command: 35/45

Best Case Scenario

I absolutely love the long-term upside for Way as a late-inning reliever. His pure stuff is good enough to settle in as an effective high-leverage arm out of the eighth or even ninth inning. Comparatively, former Royals reliever Dylan Coleman offers a similar upside and stuff. The fastball/slider combination works well and the potential for even more velocity as a full-time reliever only adds to the upside. Way is a big, 6-4 RHP that could hold up over a full season while maintaining close to triple-digit velocity.

Worst Case Scenario

Similar again to Dylan Coleman, Way needs to avoid walks to truly carve a path as a full-time reliever. His stuff is impressive, but if he misses the zone enough then hitters will simply wait for their free pass and do damage when they can. He won’t need to find even average command, but walking 12% or more of opposing hitters isn’t going to work. If Way can’t cut the walks down to around 10% or less, then his long-term floor is a depth reliever who might be able to provide low-leverage innings out of the bullpen if injuries cause depth to become necessary.