Jalen Christopher Beeks (born July 10, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). The

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

selected Beeks in the 12th round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2018 for the Red Sox.

Career

Mississippi State at Arkansas baseball 2013, 009

Amateur

Beeks attended Prairie Grove High School in

Prairie Grove, Arkansas Prairie Grove is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,380 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, and home to Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park. History Prairie Grove was the ...

, graduating in 2011. He enrolled at

Crowder College Crowder College is a public community college in Neosho, Missouri. It serves the Community College District of Newton and McDonald counties in southwestern Missouri and other outlying areas. The school enrolled 4,398 in 2019. Established in 1963 ...

, and transferred to the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. A reliable reliever during the 2013 season, Beeks allowed the game-tying and go-ahead runs on consecutive

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es during an

intentional walk In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...

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 The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

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 In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA).

Boston Red Sox

The

selected Beeks in the 12th round of the

. He signed and made his debut that same year for the

GCL Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

, pitching five scoreless innings. In 2015, he pitched for the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, where he had a 9–7

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

with a 4.32

(ERA) in 26 starts, and in 2016, he pitched both for the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

and

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

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 The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

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 In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

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

in exchange for right-handed

Nathan Eovaldi Nathan Edward Eovaldi ( ; born February 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Ra ...

. 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 The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

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. On August 25, 2020, Beeks tore his

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

while pitching against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, ending his season and requiring Tommy John surgery. On February 17, 2021, Beeks was placed on the 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from Tommy John surgery. On March 22, 2022, Beeks signed a $0.75 million contract with the Rays, avoiding salary arbitration. On June 4, 2022, Beeks, along with 4 other Rays teammates, opted out of wearing a Rays team logo and cap in support of LGBTQ+ Pride, during the team's annual Pride Night celebration at

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The stadium has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural sea ...

Personal

Beeks and his wife, Brie, have a son and a daughter. The family resides in

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, Arkansas, ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beeks, Jalen Living people 1993 births Sportspeople from Fayetteville, Arkansas Baseball players from Arkansas Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Tampa Bay Rays players Crowder Roughriders baseball players Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Salem Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Pawtucket Red Sox players Durham Bulls players Surprise Saguaros players Harwich Mariners players

Career

Amateur

Boston Red Sox

Tampa Bay Rays

Personal

References

Further reading

External links