Jeremy Beasley Exceeds Expectations

Jeremy Beasley did little to distinguish himself in his only season of Division I baseball at Clemson in 2017. The junior righthander had a 5.79 ERA in 23 relief appearances, striking out 26 and walking 13 in 23.1 innings. He preferred to start but couldn’t crack the rotation, and he was not dominant enough to earn the closer’s role.

The Angels and area scout Chris McAlpin saw untapped potential in Beasley, however, and the organization selected him in the 30th round in 2017. Beasley, the 895th overall pick, signed for a meager $3,000.

“He showed arm strength and an ability to use secondary stuff,” McAlpin said. “He was just inconsistent with his mechanics and I thought they could be cleaned up so he could reach his potential.”

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Beasley is still a work in progress, but he exceeded expectations in his first two pro seasons, jumping from low Class A Burlington to high Class A Inland Empire and eventually landing with Double-A Mobile in 2018. Beasley has quietly established himself as one of the better pitching prospects in the organization, and he ranked as the Angels’ No. 20 prospect entering 2019.

“When he came into the system, he was a high-intensity guy with huge effort in his delivery,” minor league pitching coordinator Matt Wise said. “Being on more of a set routine in pro ball, he kind of settled in. The dude works harder than anybody. He’s bought into the entire system.”

Beasley has the mentality and mound demeanor of a bulldog, often grunting and snarling his way through appearances, and he’s developing the stuff to match. His fastball sits at 92 mph and touches 95-96 mph. His best weapon is a sharp, swing-and-miss, 83-84 mph splitter that draws comparisons to some of the best splitters in the majors, and he backs it up with a slider that he has tightened up this spring. His overall command is solid as well.

“He’s super polite,” Wise said of Beasley. “But when he gets on mound, he literally looks like he’s trying to hurt people.”

Beasley went 6-7, 2.66 in 25 games (18 starts) across three levels in 2018, striking out 104 and walking 32 in 111.2 innings. He was also the first recipient of the organization’s Aaron Cox teammate of the year award, named after the Angels prospect who died last summer.

Beasley has a 5.91 ERA in his first three starts at Mobile this season, striking out 13 and walking seven in 10.2 innings. His high-tempo delivery and general arm action has more of a reliever look to it, and if he stalls as a starter, he attacks hitters with the gusto necessary to be a solid bullpen piece.

NOTES

— Top pitching prospect Griffin Canning positioned himself for a potential early season big-league promotion by allowing just one earned run in his first 16 innings for Triple-A Salt Lake. In that time, he struck out 17 hitters and walked only two.

— Double-A lefthander Patrick Sandoval, acquired from Houston for catcher Martin Maldonado last summer, had a 3.00 ERA in his first two starts for Mobile, striking out 18 and walking three in nine innings.