It's whether he ever would be.
It’s time to just pull the plug and admit that Beavan doesn’t have any kind of future as a starting pitcher in the big leagues
Those are the quotes that drive me insane. If you believe he isn't one right now, I absolutely agree. I've been wanting to demote him for a while - although until tonight Noesi was absolutely ahead of him on my demotion list because Beavan didn't get shelled. Now that they're both getting shelled, either is fine with me for a minor league demotion, and in no way should they both get their scheduled starts against the Giants.
But ever? I can't cross Beavan off the list of major-league pitchers. I remember that Greg Dobbs couldn't hit anything with that pretty swing (1500 pro at-bats later he's having pretty long ML career), that Fister was a "back end junk starter," that Mike Morse was a joke (130 OPS+ in 1300 plate appearances is hilarious), that Brian LaHair's name must not even be MENTIONED as a prospect (best hitter on the Cubs this year by a long shot), that Saunders was no kind of prospect, Choo was just a 4th OF who "can't hit lefties" (true) and "lacks the requisite skills to be a major league starting outfielder" (demonstrably false and said a month before he went to Cleveland and became an immediate juggernaut)...
I could field a pretty good team with the players that USSM has authoritatively dismissed as worthless wastes of time.
In 2015 would I be surprised that Beavan picked up a split-finger and was a MOR starter? No. He can obviously find the zone, he just needs a better breaking pitch.
He's not future-less as a starter - he's current-less.
So let him go to the minors and find a future.
~G