Beeks relishes time in majors thus far

Jalen Beeks has enough memories to last a lifetime after pitching in the major leagues for parts of the last two seasons.

The Prairie Grove native had success against Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, two of the best hitters in the game. The left-hander picked up his first major-league victory against the Anaheim Angels on Aug. 2, 2018 -- exactly a week after he was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The victory is a key milestone, even though the postgame celebration was somewhat forgettable, Beeks said.

"Pujols was enormous in the box," Beeks said. "Striking him out was another wow moment. Afterward they give you the beer shower, which is really pretty gross. It was a mix of milk, Red Bull and beer.

"I struck out Miguel Cabrera. I'll always remember that. I faced the Yankees in New York. I could go on for days."

The 26-year-old also picked up the victory against his old team, allowing one hit in four shutout innings of Tampa's 2-0 win over the Red Sox at Boston's Fenway Park less than a month after the trade.

The trade, which sent him to the Rays for pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, was definitely on his mind that day.

"It was very weird," Beeks said. "It was like, 'Well, let's see if we made a good trade.' Nobody else was probably thinking that but me."

Fast forward more than a year, and it looks as though the trade has worked out well for both the Rays and Beeks. He spent the rest of 2018 with the Rays, finishing 5-0 with a 4.47 ERA in 12 appearances. He then went 6-3 with a 4.31 ERA in 33 games for the Rays in 2019, with only a brief stint in Class AAA.

The 12th-round pick by the Red Sox in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft also spent most of the 2019 season in the big leagues for the first time.

He can't wait to get back to the Rays' spring training in a few weeks. But he's enjoyed the family time with his wife, Brie, and two small children, Breckly and Jack, in their new home in Northwest Arkansas.

The journey to make the major leagues, which included four-plus seasons in the minors, is less than glamorous, Beeks said.

"I had a wife and two kids who traveled with me the whole time in the minors," Beeks said. "It's just long, hard days and not getting paid. But I get to play baseball and that's a blessing."

Making the majors means a stable home for his family. They only moved into their newly finished home around Thanksgiving. Before that, their living arrangements often changed because of his meager minor-league salary.

"We bounced around from cheap apartment to cheap apartment," Beeks said. "We even lived with in-laws.

"We just had to trust God. It's just a grind. I don't know how else to explain it."

But one thing that makes it easier is his family stays with him a great deal of the time, said Beeks, who has been married for five years. Earning a major league salary has helped make that a possibility as he made the big league minimum of more than $550,000 last season.

He even took the family with him on a road trip to the West Coast last season.

"They travel with me when we go to spring training and wherever our hometown will be," Beeks said. "That was our one rule. We were gonna stick together.

"It gets expensive sometimes, but we decided it was more important for us to have the time together. I'm super grateful for the opportunity. It allows me to enjoy all these places with my family."

Beeks was used as a starting pitcher throughout his four years in the minor leagues in the Red Sox organization. But the former University of Arkansas Razorback appears to have blossomed as a multi-inning reliever for the Rays.

A low-90s fastball bumped up to the mid-90s this past season, which has made his pitching more effective overall.

Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder said he and others in the organization like what they've seen from Beeks. Snyder believes his future is bright.

"He's solidified himself as a major-league pitcher," Snyder said. "Jalen was a really talented pitcher when we acquired him. He's done nothing but continue to improve. We'll continue to focus on early count strike-throwing and using his stuff with two strikes."

Tampa Bay drew attention recently for not using a traditional starting pitcher, instead going with what's been tabbed as an opener who will only pitch 1 to 2 innings. But Snyder didn't see him being utilized in the opener role going forward.

"We're really intrigued with what we've seen from Jalen in one- and two-inning stints," Snyder said. "We see him as a really valuable guy who can get six outs or maybe more. Jalen's gonna play a significant role for us. How that unfolds we'll see.

"He had some appearances against some of the better hitters in the league and he made them look bad. I kid you not. There were some times I saw guys like D.J. LeMahieu and J.D Martinez have some of their worst swings of the season against Jalen."

Snyder and others in the Rays organization helped Beeks make some modifications to his delivery, which have helped him increase his fastball velocity.

"I've learned how to use my body better with the Rays," Beeks said. "My stuff has improved. It's more about attacking the hitters dead-on instead of nitpicking."

The Rays also concentrated on his change-up, and it became his most consistent pitch last season, Beeks said.

"When I got to the Rays, they looked at the analytics and told me, 'Your change-up is good,'" Beeks said. "'We want you to throw it harder and throw it more.' It's tough to explain, but you're chasing spin and more side-to-side spin, you will have more drop and run on the ball.

"So it's about repeating the techniques. But it's been a blast and I'm trying to live it up. It's about God's plan. I trust in that. I'll just try to get guys out to the best of my ability."

Beeks will be headed back to spring training in less than a month, looking to make more memories.

Sports on 01/20/2020