Tom Brennan - Jace Beck, “Control Freak” - and a Hardy Lad, Too

JACE BECK, PRE-DRAFT, SOME YEARS BACK

We all love tall tales, don’t we?

There once lived a giant, a wild man by nature, who encountered a Cyclone and suddenly, and amazingly to all, became more well controlled…

At the start of 2023, 6’9” righty giant Jace Beck was either striking out, or walking, nearly every batter he faced.

In his first 16 innings, he walked 21 and fanned 35. Nuts. Like Steve Dalkowski II.

But he has turned into a control freak, relatively speaking.

In an 11 outing stretch, spanning 8 weeks, he walked 3 in one outing, but in the other 10, just 6 walks in 14.1 innings. Very nearly the work of a control freak.

His K rate is down just a bit, but he still had 57 Ks in 31 innings as I wrote this in the latter days of August.

The 23 year old Brooklyn pen arm thus has been making great progress on the control front. Keep it up and move on up.

A fellow former extreme wild man, pre-2022, Brendan Hardy, is another 2023 transformation story. 

He had gone 27 innings in relief in Brooklyn, fanned 39, walked just 12, sported a 1.69 ERA, and was promoted to AA in late August.

Good luck to both in 2024. I can hardly control my excitement.

(I noted that Beck, of course, had been added to the 7 day injured list as I wrote this in late August.  Can’t walk anyone when you’re on the IL). Tyler Stuart, also 6’9”, joined him on the IL. Has to be a height-related pandemic.

Anyway, since the season ends soon, if Beck does not return, he will finish 6-5, 3.73, with an amazing 57 Ks in 31 innings. On to 2024.

Between Jace Beck and Paul Gervase, 147 Ks in 85 innings. How do you spell “sit the heck down” and “you brought a bat to the plate, WHY, exactly?”? 

Special K mention to Nate Lavender here. The lefty has fanned 72 in 48 innings, most of that in AAA. Best reliever not yet called up.

LUISANGEL ACUNA UPDATE:

In 28 Binghamton games, .255/.346/.273. No that last # is not a misprint. Two doubles.

He did previously have 34 XBH in 362 at bats this year in AA with his prior organization. Nerves, perhaps, or unfamiliarity with pitchers from a different league (now Eastern, was in AA Texas league). In part, Texas is a league where hitters overall hit better. 

Texas League high and low teams: .273 and .237. 

Eastern League high and low teams: .249 and .227.

So, Texas League hitters hit about 15 points higher. 

Naturally, the .227 low team is Binghamton.

Acuna is 54 in 64 in steals this year, too. Superior stuff.

And, just 1 error in 28 Binghamton games, mostly played at SS, rest at 2B, so that is superior, too.