The start of Dylan Beavers’ major league career couldn’t have gone much better. 

In his first three games, the outfielder had already collected four hits. After making his debut on the road, the 24-year-old put on a show in his first homestand, hitting .368 with a 1.162 OPS in seven games against the Astros and Red Sox. And by game 24, he had already walked 20 times, improving his on-base percentage to a staggering .460. 

But after hitting the ground running, Beavers’ pace was slowed. 

In the final 10 games of the season, the Cal product hit just .143 with 12 strikeouts and a .268 OBP. 

All in all, Beavers’ first 35 games had their fair share of ups and downs, as is to be expected with any rookie, especially in a small sample size. A .375 OBP is impressive, a .227 batting average less so, and a .775 OPS is just fine.

Were the flashes of potential enough to earn Beavers a spot as an everyday player in 2026? 

Let’s start with the good. 

When the outfielder was at his best, his patient approach was the driving factor. 

A quick glance at Beavers’ Statcast page shows off a few elite metrics: chase rate and walk rate. The former No. 33 pick rarely expanded the strike zone, forcing pitchers to deliver pitches over the plate. That’s when he was able to take advantage. 

Think about the structure of an at-bat. If a pitcher can’t get a hitter to chase out of the zone, they’re likely to fall behind. When that happens, they’ll need to turn to a pitch that they’re confident they can locate with precision over the plate. More often than not, that pitch is a fastball. 

That’s just what Beavers needed. 

According to Statcast, Beavers saw fastballs close to 58 percent of the time in 2025. That includes four-seamers, two-seamers, sinkers and cutters. Against those 355 pitches, the outfielder mashed .297 with a .531 slugging percentage and whiffed just 16 percent of the time, sending out three of his four home runs and eight of his 10 extra-base hits. 

That also brings us to the bad: the other 42 percent of the time. 

Offspeed pitches, namely splitters and changeups, were offered to Beavers roughly 16 percent of the time. He collected five hits in total for a .208 batting average. In fairness, though, all hitters have their weaknesses. Even Aaron Judge hit just .202 against offspeed pitches this season, and he still managed to lead baseball with a .331 batting average. 

Now that just leaves the breaking pitches that Beavers saw, including curveballs, sliders, sweepers and slurves. Against those pitches, thrown to the left-handed hitter 26.5 percent of the time, he collected just one single. That’s an .045 batting average with a whiff rate over 37 percent. 

A dropoff in production from fastballs to breaking and offspeed pitches is expected. Most hitters in the game fare better against heaters than anything else. But a dropoff so drastic is a game plan on a silver platter for an opposing pitcher. 

Of course, Beavers now has the benefit of experience under his belt. A cup of coffee in the majors is the perfect time to learn how you’re being attacked, address the holes in the offseason, and counterpunch in your next year. 

Outside of the bat, Beavers has played solid enough defense in the outfield, boasting 89th percentile sprint speed, according to Statcast, along with average defensive metrics. 

Perhaps Beavers’ role is best forecasted based on your forecast for the O’s 2026 season as a whole. 

If you view 2025 as an anomaly caused by injuries and underperformance that won’t repeat, perhaps Baltimore should be seen as an American League contender in 2026. In that case, maybe Beavers’ 35 games impressed you enough to see the youngster as a rotational outfielder playing 100-plus games, but not as a young player that should dissuade you from signing a veteran starter to push you towards contention. 

Or, maybe you’re looking ahead to 2026 as a year to build from the ground up and see Beavers as part of that foundation. 

Clearly, there is a place for Beavers in the big leagues in 2026. The O’s offseason moves will give us an indication of just how large that role will be.