Red Sox left-handed prospect Jalen Beeks to get a start
By Rick McNair
The Boston Red Sox will roll the dice and give prospect Jalen Beeks a starting shot this Thursday. Will the lefty impress?
The Boston Red Sox will start left-handed prospect Jalen Beeks against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. Beeks will be making his major league debut in a spot start, as reported by Mass Live.
Beeks is suddenly the hot prospect in the Red Sox farm system – a system that has been quite depleted via a series of trades since Dave Dombrowski became president of baseball operations. The who for Beeks is a 12th round pick and left-handed. Beeks is now ranked 15th on the Red Sox Prospect Watch.
Beeks is 5’ 11” so that has to be a consideration in the drafting process as size matters, especially with pitchers. Just don’t tell Pedro Martinez. The lefty is 24-years-old and has made a steady climb within the system since 2014. Beeks has made 88 appearances in his five season and all as a starter. So what about the numbers?
"Beeks’ most reliable offering is a 91-93 mph fastball that maxes out at 95 and plays above its velocity because of high spin rate and deception. He ran into trouble in 2016 after his changeup lost its tumble, but it became a solid pitch again last year. He had to rely more on his slider when his changeup deserted him, and he turned it into more of a mid-80s cutter in 2017. – MLB Prospect Watch"
This season, Beeks is the lynchpin for the Pawtucket (AAA) rotation and has a 3-3 record, 6.6 H/9, 2.2 BB/9, 38.8 GB%, 12.8 K%, minuscule 0.98 WHIP and a .281 BABIP. The strikeout percentage and walk percentage are certainly attractive. As noted, Beeks does not throw hard relative to what is expected in today’s game but is deceptive with his delivery and his ability to have a five-pitch repertoire. Sox prospects provides an in-depth critique of his pitches.
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There are inherent risks in catapulting a young player into the spotlight of an intense pennant race. The Red Sox have done this is the past with mixed results. Charlie Zink on one side and Felix Doubront on the other. The Red Sox undoubtedly have conferred with PawSox pitching coach Kevin Walker and manager Kevin Boles. Scouting reports and the accompanying reams of metrics data has been seared into the heads of the decision makers regarding Beeks. Do you risk it? Apparently, the Red Sox think Beeks is worth the risk.
I would be more patient with Beeks since this is his breakout season. So far the breakout is just 10 starts and 56 innings. A rush job with a Beeks start? From my exalted view most certainly since I would have held Hector Velazquez or Brian Johnson as available options. The Red Sox are 3-0 in the three spot starts by both.
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All management hands feel Beeks can accomplish a keep you in the game moment. Maybe Beeks could become the pitching version of Mookie Betts, but that may be far too extended hyperbole. The good news is any Beeks start will be at home and the Red Sox fans have a tendency to be forgiving and supportive when they view the circumstances that brought Beeks up.