Jalen Beeks

Beeks started his college career at Crowder (Mo.) JC, then transferred to Arkansas and was the team's workhorse out of the bullpen as a sophomore. He moved into the rotation this spring and had been climbing draft boards as one of the SEC's more effective lefthanders, with a 5-4, 2.11 regular season mark. Stocky at a listed 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, Beeks doesn't cut an imposing figure on the mound but touches 94 mph with his fastball while sitting in the 88-92 mph range, though his velocity drops after five or six innings. He throws quality strikes with the fastball and solid-average slider, a short, late offering, and locates his changeup well. Beeks missed the last two weeks of the regular season with elbow soreness, and Arkansas did not plan to use him during the conference tournament, amplifying durability questions that scouts already had. Beeks profiles as a back-end pitchability starter if he can handle the workload.