Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Foundation Of Beeks’ Baseball Career
HIGH SCHOOL COACH RECOGNIZED PLAYER’S POTENTIAL
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 back at Beeks’ high school career.
PRAIRIE GROVE — Former Tiger skipper Mitch Cameron, now head baseball coach at 7A Rogers Heritage, still gets excited when talking about Jalen Beeks’ high school exploits.
Beeks, a 2011 Prairie Grove graduate, is currently a starting pitcher for the Pawtucket Red Sox, the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, which drafted Beeks in 2014.
As a 5-feet-9 sophomore, Beeks was overlooked because of his stature. Cameron was quick to recognize his talent coupled with a work-ethic that would eventually land Beeks at the University of Arkansas and on the radar of major league baseball scouts.
“He would be at the field all the time, throwing, hitting; anything you ask him to do he’s going to do it,” Cameron said.
Cameron was impressed with Beeks’ tools, noting he wasn’t quite there velocity-wise as a sophomore, yet improving constantly.
“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.
The Tigers went 5-13 in Cameron’s first year at the helm, then fielded a strong team in 2010, his second year, balanced by Beeks, a strong junior class led by Jon Halbert, and an outstanding group of freshmen, including Beeks’ first cousin, Ty Tice, who is now in minor league baseball as a closer for the Bluefield, W.Va., Bluejays.
“Tice was a four-year starter for us,” Cameron said. “For Tice to do that, too; to come out of the same family, to come out of the same gene pool, is really cool.”
As a junior, Beeks’ velocity improved to 82-83 mph and he expanded upon his exploits. The Tigers lost to rival Farmington in the Regional semifinals then beat Pea Ridge, 8-1, to take a third seed into state. Cameron started Beeks in the first-round of the 2010 State 4A baseball tournament against Arkadelphia.
“We got up on them a little bit so I pulled him, hoping he could come back and start in the secondround,” Cameron said.
The Tigers won 9-1 and advanced to a matchup with baseball juggernaut Valley View. Beeks was on top of his game and Cameron’s strategy paid dividends with Beeks turning in a dominating performance in
an 8-inning complete game versus two-time defending State 4A champion Blazers (25-2).
“That was probably the most memorable game he’s pitched at Prairie Grove,” Cameron said. “He had fastballs in hand. He threw a curveball here or there. These guys had won two state championships and they couldn’t hit him. That was the game that put Prairie Grove on the map without a doubt. People were saying, ‘Who are these guys?’”
Prairie Grove won 1-0 on a solo home run in the eighth inning.
That was the first time the Tigers reached the state semifinals, and they would return in Beeks’ senior season. As a senior at Prairie Grove, Beeks pitched 89.2 innings in 15 appearances on the mound. Of the 16 runs he allowed, only 8 were earned. Of the 28 hits yielded by Beeks, 22 were singles with 4 doubles and 2 home runs. With all that work, Beeks hit only 11 batters and was charged with a mere 7 wild pitches. By now, he was throwing an 86-87 mph fastball and Cameron knew 90 mph was on the horizon although skeptics weren’t convinced.
In Beeks’ senior season at Prairie Grove, the Tigers went 6-1 in the 4A-1 and finished 17-7 overall. They beat rival Farmington, 9-2, and powerhouse Shiloh Christian, 9-5, to win the District championship. The Tigers advanced to the Regional finals with wins over Clarksville (7-0) and Mena (15-9). Shiloh Christian handed them a 12-2 loss in the title game, but the Tigers rebounded to post state tournament victories over Ashdown (6-3), Heber Springs (8-2) and Stuttgart (10-0). They were edged by the Saints, 4-3, in an 8-inning championship contest to finish as State Runner-up.
Coming out of high school, Beeks pitched at Crowder Junior College in 2012. He had a 6-3 record with 1 save and a 3.32 ERA, striking out 90 batters in 78.2 innings pitched. He then transferred to the University of Arkansas. Beeks thrived out of the Razorback bullpen in 2013. His 29 appearances were a team-high and his record was a solid 6-2 in 41 innings of work. Beeks had 13 starts for the Razorbacks in 2014, going 6-4 with a 1.98 ERA although he missed the SEC tournament due to injury.
Beeks was a 12th-round selection by Boston in major league baseball’s 2014 firstyear player draft.