Beede is one of several starters vying for the Giants' fifth spot in the rotation and VP of baseball operations Brian Sabean expects he will be in the majors sooner rather than later, CSN Bay Area reports.
Matt Cain is still considered the favorite to win the fifth starter job out of spring training, so Sabean's statement was more than likely made to suggest that Beede is next in line should one of the Giants' veteran starters go down to injury or falter out of the gates. A dominating season at Double-A Richmond (2.81 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 0.55 HR/9) proved that his poor 2015 was more of an outlier than a sign of things to come. He could certainly surpass expectations this spring and force the Giants' hand in putting him in the rotation, but the expected path for Beede would be to start the year with Triple-A Sacramento and then moving to the majors if and when the team needs a starter.