Perrotto: New Pirate Jalen Beeks Has Come Long Way From Prairie Grove

Jalen Beeks only attended one Major League Baseball game growing up. After all, his hometown of Prairie Grove, Ark., is far from the big leagues.

However, Beeks and his family once made the 5.5-hour drive to Arlington to see the Texas Rangers play at old Globe Life Park. Beeks remembers it well.

“Alfonso Soriano doubled off the wall right in front of me,” Beeks said with a smile. “That’s the kind of thing you remember as a kid.”

Beeks, 31, left Arlington wanting to play in the major leagues one day. He reached that goal in 2018 when the left-handed reliever debuted with the Boston Red Sox four years after they drafted hum in the 12th round from the University of Arkansas.

Beeks has since played for the Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies and now finds himself with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates acquired him from the Rockies on July 29 in a trade for left-handed pitching prospect Luis Peralta.

The trade enabled Beeks to make up a lot of ground in the standings. The Rockies have been buried in last place in the National League West since starting the season with 18 losses in 23 games.

The Pirates hope to reach the postseason for the first time since 2015. They are four games out of the third and final NL wild-card spot going into Tuesday night’s game with the San Diego Padres at PNC Park.

“I knew there was a good chance to get traded, obviously didn’t know to where,” said Beeks, who can become a free agent after the World Series. “I was prepared either way. It’s an exciting clubhouse to be in here in Pittsburgh. You have a lot of older guys who are legends and a lot of younger guys coming up with a lot of talent, so it’s a good mix. I’m really excited to compete for a playoff spot.”

The Pirates believe Beeks can help them make a late-season push as the second lefty in the bullpen behind Aroldis Chapman. The Pirates have been searching for a reliable No. 2 left-hander as Ryan Borucki has been out since April 7 with left triceps inflammation.

Beeks has pitched four times for the Pirates and allowed one run in three innings. In 45 games for the Rockies this year, he had a 6-4 record, nine saves and a 4.74 ERA. Beeks had five career saves over five seasons coming into 2024.

“Obviously as a reliever, I want to be in the biggest moments,” Beeks said. “That’s what we look forward to, that’s what we train for, that’s what everybody wants. Obviously, it was an awesome experience to pitch in a little bit different situation. It was a learning moment for me. It was something I always wanted to do. It was awesome and I got a little more comfortable being in the big spots.”

Beeks isn’t likely to get any save opportunities with the Pirates. David Bednar is entrenched as the closer and when he is unavailable then Chapman usually finishes the game. Yet Beeks’ closing experience matters to the Pirates.

“The fact that he’s pitched in those situations is one of the reasons that we liked acquiring him because there’s a different heartbeat for the leverage,” manager Derek Shelton said.

Also attractive to the Pirates is that Beeks has held left-handed hitters to a .183 batting average and .529 OPS in 69 plate appearances this season. He also deceives hitters.

“He has the ability to go ball-to-strike or strike-to-ball,” Shelton said. “It’d be more strike-to-ball to have it look like it’s going be a strike and get it off the plate and get a chase. He can be an important pitcher out of the bullpen for us.”

Which is pretty good for a kid from Prairie Grove.