PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The journey rarely ends when you cross the finish line. Upon reaching the big leagues, the typical ballplayer is still growing. Learning. Adjusting.
And so it was in his third season in the majors that Jalen Beeks finally felt as if he had unlocked his potential, picking up a win, a save and a hold during four scoreless outings in a 10-day span in 2020.
Three days later, he blew out his elbow.
It may sound like the opening chapter of a sad story, but that isn’t the way Beeks tells it. If the timing stinks, the lessons were instructive. Maybe even motivational.
“I think it was a blessing going into the next year and a half of my life that I felt like I had figured it out, and it was just a matter of time until I get back,” Beeks said. “I knew what I had to do physically to get healthy, and mentally I had figured some things out.”
Which brings us to Thursday afternoon in a mostly empty stadium with a speaker playing rap music and the sun high above. Beeks was facing Rays teammates in a live batting practice 18 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair a ligament tear in his elbow.
Beeks, 28, had arrived in spring training a few days earlier throwing 93-94 mph, which is a tick above where he was before that fateful day in 2020 when he had to leave the mound at Tropicana Field in the ninth inning.
“As far as stuff-wise, the moving profiles on his change-up and slider are right where he left off in 2020,” pitching coach Kyle Snyder said. “I was blown away, really, that he’s at 93 and it’s coming out good.”
“Pretty remarkable,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said a day earlier after watching Beeks in the bullpen.
It could also be pretty critical for the Rays. On a team that values versatility in the bullpen, Beeks has experience as a spot starter, a long reliever and a late-inning left-handed specialist.
His spot on the roster is not guaranteed at this point, but that’s not something Beeks is going to worry about. Learning to focus on the here and now is what helped turn his fortunes going into 2020.
At that point, Beeks had been a somewhat effective but not always reliable swing man for the Rays. He was 6-3 with one save and a 4.31 ERA in 2019, but gave up too many walks and home runs for comfort.
Part of the problem, Beeks said, was that he was too focused on using his lower body for strength on the mound and he had become too mechanical in his delivery. He needed a more natural delivery without worrying about the push he was getting from his left leg and hip.
The other change was less noticeable but far more important.
Beeks began having conversations with Justin Su’a, the team’s head of mental performance, about his mindset on the mound. Beeks learned to let go of the past and trust his abilities.
“My thought process wasn’t really right. Too much anxiety in a high-anxiety job. I was putting unneeded pressure on myself,” Beeks said. “Justin said it sounded like I was struggling to stay in the present when I was on the mound. He kind of dissected me and showed me that I was making it too hard on myself.”
Beeks wrote a message on the bill of his cap — What Can I Do Right Now? — to help him avoid fretting about previous mistakes and stay focused on attacking the hitter in front of him.
Su’a, who had known Beeks when they were both in the Red Sox organization, downplays his role in the change. The key, he said, is Beeks allowing his talent to take over.
“All I really did was provide him some questions,” Su’a said. “Once he answered those questions, he was able to find his own perspective and his own solutions.”
