Former Arkansas pitcher Jalen Beeks has been named the Boston Red Sox’s minor league pitcher of the year.
Beeks, 24, was one of six minor league players honored by the Red Sox in a pregame ceremony before Friday’s game against the Houston Astros.
Beeks finished fifth among qualifying Red Sox minor league pitchers with a career-low 3.29 ERA and second with a career-high 155 strikeouts in 26 combined starts between Class AA Portland, Maine, and Class AAA Pawtucket, R.I.
He went 5-1 with a 2.19 ERA and held batters to a .199 batting average in his 9 Portland starts, which included a 25-inning scoreless streak from April 22 throgh May 18, the second-longest in Portland franchise history. He was promoted to Pawtucket on June 3 and finished second on the team with 97 strikeouts in 95⅔ innings despite going 6-7 with a 3.86 ERA in 17 starts.
Beeks, a 12th round selection by the Red Sox in 2014, has a 29-23 career record and 3.78 ERA with 374 strikeouts and 135 walks. He will need to be added to Boston’s 40-man roster during the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.