SPORTS EDITOR'S NOTE: To sum up the baseball career of former Prairie Grove and Razorback pitcher Jalen Beeks, who is now playing Triple A baseball in the Boston Red Sox organization, requires examining all three levels. In this article, the ENTERPRISE-LEADER looks at Beeks' professional career.
PRAIRIE GROVE -- Playground scenarios can emerge even in the minor leagues.
According to SoxProspects.com, Jalen Beeks has four pitches, fastball, changeup, curveball and a slider that has been scrapped this year in favor of a cutter.
Those pitches were on display in March as Beeks showcased his stuff front and center in the middle of a playground scenario. Beeks was originally scheduled to throw the third and fourth innings for Team USA, but found out minutes before the first pitch that he was switching teams and would pitch against, not for, Team USA.
Beeks was up for the challenge, posting two impressive innings against a lineup that included the likes of Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Ian Kinsler.
Beeks was stingy. He did not allow a run, and only yielded one hit and one walk while recording a pair of strikeouts.
Prairie Grove athletic director Joey Sorters, who has been a fan of Beeks since he was a two-sport athlete in high school playing baseball and basketball for the Tigers, raved over Beeks' response to being called into the spotlight.
"I think he opened a lot of eyes when he got to pitch against the USA Team," Sorters said. "He basically shut down the USA Team for a couple of innings. Everybody said he might have potential. It was the national scene saying it."
Beeks' high school coach, former Prairie Grove skipper Mitch Cameron, now at Rogers Heritage, keeps up with Beeks' career that has taken the left-handed hurler from Prairie Grove to Crowder College, at Neosho, Mo., to the University of Arkansas to being selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 2014 draft.
Cameron is not surprised in the least that Beeks has been promoted through the Boston Red Sox farm club system to their Pawtucket, R.I., Triple A affiliate.
"If he's in Triple A it's not just talent-wise," Cameron said. "In high school, he would be at the field all the time, throwing, hitting; anything you ask him to do he's going to do it."
As for the outing against Team USA, Cameron described Beeks' approach on the mound as not overpowering, yet effective in a business-like fashion.
"That's kind of what he does. He's not flashy, but this guy gets outs."
Cameron enjoyed all the attention focused on Beeks, acknowledging, "He (Beeks) never does anything to bring attention to himself," noting people were saying, "Hey, this kid can get it done."
Sorters recalls taking his late son, Jarren Sorters who passed Aug. 16, at age 15, from childhood cancer, to watch Beeks play high school basketball.
"Jalen, he wanted the ball. He had that mentality, 'I've got the ball. You're going to foul me. I'm going to make free throws. We're going to win.'"
Jarren Sorters was playing basketball at the time, also playing point-guard, at the pee wee levels in upper grade school; and Joey wanted him to comprehend Beeks' mindset.
Cameron still marvels at what Beeks was able to accomplish in high school.
"What will stand out is his strikeouts to walk ratio," Cameron said. "The kid just pounded the zone."
As a Prairie Grove senior in the spring of 2011 Beeks' strikeouts numbered 135 compared to 7 walks.
Sorters recalls one of Beek's peak performances when he fanned 21 batters to lead the Tigers to a 4-1 victory in April 2011.
"He was a great pitcher, one of the best Prairie Grove players on the baseball team. He was a great kid," Sorters said.
Cameron remembers the extra-inning game went 8 innings before the Tigers prevailed. Beeks gave up one hit, a solo home run. Other than that he chewed up the Blackhawk lineup.
"He just mowed them down," Cameron said. "You just never doubted him one bit."
"He wasn't quite there velocity-wise as a sophomore. He threw 76 miles-per-hour as a sophomore and he had three pitches, a fastball, curveball and a change-up that he could locate at any time," Cameron said. "He threw 82-83 mph as a junior and 86-87 mp.h as a senior. He was still a boy, but able to locate. If he's on the mound, you've got a shot."
During Beeks' senior season the Tigers upended a vaunted Shiloh Christian dynasty that won three consecutive state championships from 2010-2012 to win the District championship by a 9-5 score.
"We were the only 4A team to beat them that year," Cameron said. "We had Jalen Beeks, that's why. That was all Jalen."
In his first 20 starts for Pawtucket this year Beeks has compiled a 9-5 record with a 2.83 ERA, pitching 111.1 innings, allowing 90 hits, 42 bases on balls with 122 strikeouts. He is one step away from his dream of playing in the majors.
Sports on 08/16/2017