The lefty veteran stepped in as the closer until he was traded to the Pirates
You’re reading the 2024 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at the season had by every player to play for the Rockies in 2024. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the least amount of rWAR and end up with the player with the most.
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No. 18, Jalen Beeks, 0.2 rWAR
Before the 2023 season, the Colorado Rockies claimed veteran reliever Brent Suter off of waivers as a ploy to add a cheap lefty reliever to the bullpen. The move proved fruitful as Suter had a solid year with the Rockies in 2023 and while there was a chance he could return, he instead moved on to his hometown Cincinnati Reds.
Desiring a cheap lefty reliever to potentially pair with the injured Lucas Gilbreath, the Rockies drew up the same game plan again in the winter of 2023, claiming Jalen Beeks from the Tampa Bay Rays.
A former 12th-round pick by the Boston Red Sox, Beeks had a solid run as a long reliever for Tampa Bay between 2019-22 where he posted a 3.70 ERA in 184 2⁄3 innings but struggled mightily in 2023 with a 5.95 ERA in 42 1⁄3 innings. The always cost-effective Rays figured his $1.675 million was too much to pay for the product and moved on from him.
The results were mixed, but it was a decent move for the Rockies. In 49 1⁄3 innings over 45 games, Beeks posted a 4.74 ERA (4.36 FIP) and 1.358 WHIP with 38 strikeouts and 18 walks. He was ultimately traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Luis Peralta where he had a 3.92 ERA in 20 2⁄3 innings.
Through the first two months of the season, Beeks looked to be a revelation. In 27 2⁄3 innings of work, Beeks had a 2.93 ERA with opponents slashing .216/.302/.333 against him. Beeks continued some of the success into the next two months, but a few bad outings of allowing four or more runs inflated him to a 7.04 ERA between June and July. Still, he was generally effective even though he struggled to limit runs from time to time.
Those issues were best highlighted by his struggles in the ninth inning. Daniel Bard being sidelined for the season forced the Rockies to endure a season-long struggle with finding a closer and finishing games. After Justin Lawerence struggled early on, Bud Black turned to Beeks as the veteran late-inning arm to serve as the closer. Beeks managed to secure nine saves, but he also recorded seven blown saves. In the ninth inning alone, Beeks had a 6.63 ERA.
The source of some of Beeks’ struggles came from a career-low 18% strikeout rate and 9.2% swinging strike percentage. He also managed an average 8.5% walk percentage and 44.7% groundball rate. He wasn’t necessarily terrible as a reliever for the Rockies, but he clearly wasn’t the type of arm the Rockies needed to be throwing at the end of games with a win on the line.
Oddly enough, Beeks had a good year pitching at Coors Field. In 28 1⁄3 innings, he recorded a 3.81 ERA which was much better than the 6.00 ERA on the road. He walked fewer at home and surrendered just two home runs, half of what he gave up on the road. Had it not been necessary to use him as a late-inning reliever, Beeks could have seen his numbers improve even more.
Still, the trade worked out perfectly for the Rockies. Peralta quickly ascended to the big league squad by the season’s end and displayed plenty of promise and excitement out of the bullpen.
For a low-cost waiver claim, Beeks filled his role perfectly for the Rockies and the team wisely moved on from him when the opportunity arose. He is a free agent now and is unlikely to return to the Rockies, but the acquisition and growth of Peralta made his time with the Rockies worthwhile even if the full stats don’t necessarily reflect it at times.
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