Jalen Beeks Promoted to Majors

After starting out the 2018 season on such a high note, 24-year-old lefty Jalen Beeks is finally getting his shot at the major-league level with the Red Sox. Af-ter Drew Pomeranz was placed on the disabled list, Boston announced that Beeks will make his big league debut on Thursday, as he starts against the De-troit Tigers at Fenway Park.

Beeks was added to the 40-man roster this offseason to keep him from getting taken in the Rule 5 Draft, but it seemed like he was destined to make his debut in the majors at some point this season. He was scratched from his start on Tuesday with the PawSox in anticipation of him making the start on Thursday.
A former teammate of Andrew Benentindi's at the University of Arkansas, Beeks went a combined 9-8 with a 3.87 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 132 2/3 in-nings last season at Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket, leading to him being named Minor League Pitcher of the Year in the Red Sox organization. He's carried that success into 2018.
Across 10 starts this season for Pawtucket, Beeks went 3-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 56 1/3 innings, along with 80 strikeouts, compared to only 14 walks on the year. His 80 strikeouts tops the International League, with the closest player being 10 strikeouts behind him (former Red Sox prospect Michael Kopech).
Despite his high strikeout rate, the 12th round pick from 2014 insisted that he's not trying to strikeout this many people, but he'll take it.
"I'm not really going out there and trying to strike out people," Beeks said. "I think when I'm hitting my spots and I have a four-pitch mix, that's just what I'm really trying to do, and we'll see how it comes out."