Jalen Beeks


Jalen Christopher Beeks is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. He made his MLB debut in 2018 for the Boston Red Sox.

Career

Amateur

Beeks attended Prairie Grove High School in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, graduating in 2011. He enrolled at Crowder College, and transferred to the University of Arkansas, where he played college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. A reliable reliever during the 2013 season, Beeks allowed the game-tying and go-ahead runs on consecutive wild pitches during an intentional walk in the 7th inning against the Kansas State Wildcats in the Manhattan Regional. The Razorbacks were eliminated from the postseason following the 4–3 loss. After the 2013 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star. Beeks returned to Arkansas for the 2014 season as the opening day starter, starting 13 games with a 6–4 record and 1.98 earned run average.

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox selected Beeks in the 12th round of the 2014 MLB draft. He signed and made his debut that same year for the GCL Red Sox, pitching five scoreless innings. In 2015, he pitched for the Greenville Drive of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he had a 9–7 win–loss record with a 4.32 earned run average in 26 starts, and in 2016, he pitched both for the Salem Red Sox of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and Portland Sea Dogs of the Class AA Eastern League, compiling a combined 9–8 record and 3.87 ERA in 26 starts.
In 2017, Beeks played for Portland and the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Class AAA International League. The Red Sox named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Year after he posted a combined 11–8 record, 3.29 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP in 26 games started between the two teams. The Red Sox added Beeks to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. He began the 2018 season with Pawtucket.
Beeks was promoted to Boston's active roster on June 7, 2018, in order to make his MLB debut in a start against the Detroit Tigers. Beeks gave up five first-inning runs and took the loss; he was optioned back to Pawtucket the next day. Beeks was recalled to Boston on July 10; he pitched innings that day, allowing four hits and three runs, and was then returned to Triple-A.

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 25, 2018, Beeks was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. With the Rays, Beeks made 12 appearances through the end of the season, compiling a 5–0 record with a 4.47 ERA and 37 strikeouts in innings.
Beeks began the 2019 season with Tampa Bay. He was optioned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls on June 28, and was recalled on July 16. He finished the season with a 6-3 record, 4.31 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 89 strikeouts over innings at the MLB level.