SPRINGDALE -- Jalen Beeks has made a smooth transition from college to professional baseball.
The left-hander from Prairie Grove is 5-1 with a 3.31 ERA for the Greenville (S.C.) Drive, a Class A farm team of the Boston Red Sox. Beeks beat Lexington (Ky.) 11-4 last Saturday to keep the Drive in first place in the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League.
Jalen Beeks
TEAM: Greenville (S.C.) Drive
POSITION: Starting pitcher
THROWS: Left-handed
HEIGHT: 5-11
WEIGHT: 190
NOTABLE: Left-handed starter who is 5-1 with a 3.31 ERA for Greenville (S.C.) Drive. … Played two years at Arkansas, where he was 12-6. … Went 10-1 with a 0.89 ERA as a senior at Prairie Grove …. Played at Crowder Junior College (Mo.) before he transferred to Arkansas. … Drafted in the 12th round last year by Boston Red Sox.
Beeks is in his first full season of professional baseball after he was selected from Arkansas by the Red Sox in the 12th round of the Major League draft. Beeks pitched in only two rookie league games last year after leaving the Razorbacks, where he was 12-6 in two seasons.
"Minor-league baseball seems to suit me pretty well," Beeks said.
Indeed, it does. So does marriage for Beeks, who was united in matrimony with Brie Wright of Prairie Grove last October.
"We were just good friends in high school and didn't date until we were in college at Arkansas," Beeks said. "I like being married. It's different but good."
Beeks is the top pitcher for the Drive, who are 31-20 and 5½ games ahead of Augusta (Ga.) in the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League heading into Tuesday night. He allowed only two earned runs in seven innings in his last start against Lexington. He's displayed good control of his pitches with 30 strikeouts and only six walks in 512/3 innings.
"Jalen's been outstanding for us since day one," Greenville Drive manager Darren Fenster said. "He has a three-pitch mix and he really likes to work at a good pace that keeps the defense engaged. He's not a big strikeout guy but, because of the way he works, because of how he throws strikes, he keeps the defense into the game."
If Beeks continues his success with the Drive, he could be promoted to Class A Advanced Salem, Mass., by the end of the season. But Beeks has set no timetable for his career and is focused instead on steady improvement as a pitcher.
"I'm taking it one week, one pitch at a time," said Beeks, who played at Crowder (Mo.) Junior College before he transferred to Arkansas. "I need to continue to develop my slider and work on my form. It's a process."
Beeks isn't the only former Razorback on the Greenville roster. He's still teammates with Michael Gunn, who was selected by Boston in the 16th round of the draft last summer.
Gunn is 0-0 with a 1.13 ERA is four games with the Drive.
"Me and Gunn are good friends and we throw to each other every day," Beeks said of the left-hander from Wilson. "It's good to be playing with someone you've know for more than six months."
Beeks and Gunn keep up with the current Arkansas baseball team as much as their busy schedules allow. They'll be cheering from Savannah, Ga., this weekend when Arkansas faces Missouri State in a Super Regional at Baum Stadium.
"I'm still friends with a lot of those guys," said Beeks, who was 6-4 with a 1.98 ERA last year with the Razorbacks. "It's not the games we played or the wins we had at Arkansas that I remember the most. It's the friends I made, and I'm happy for their success."
Sports on 06/03/2015