He has historic pitching power and a putaway pitch, but that power does not fully show up in his pitching performance. Why, despite having top-tier stuff, does Lotte Giants foreign pitcher Jeremy Beasley fail to dominate the league?
Beasley started on the 19th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Ballpark in a professional baseball regular-season game against the Hanwha Eagles, throwing 99 pitches over five innings and recording 5 hits allowed (1 home run), 3 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 5 hits allowed and 4 earned runs before being removed. He could have been the losing pitcher, but the lineup completed a come-from-behind in the eighth inning, turning it into a no-decision. Lotte won 6-4.
In the first inning he walked the leadoff hitter Lee Jin-young after a full-count battle. Then he allowed a bloop single to Peraza, creating a no-out, runners at first and second threat. Moon Hyun-bin laid down a sacrifice bunt, producing one out with runners at second and third. Kang Baek-ho grounded to second for a force out but could not prevent the runner from third from scoring. With two outs and a runner on third, he got Roh Si-hwan to fly out to left to end the inning with minimal damage.
In the top of the second, Jeon Min-jae hit a two-run homer to overcome Beasley's run. In the bottom of the second, he struck out the leadoff hitter Heo In-seo on a swinging strike, and Kim Tae-yean was induced to fly out to left. After two outs, he battled Lee Do-yoon in a seven-pitch duel and induced a grounder to first for a 1-2-3 inning.
In the third, he struck out the leadoff hitter Shim Woo-jun and got Lee Jin-young to fly out to shortstop to record two outs. But after two outs, facing Peraza at 1-1, he threw a 140 km forkball that Peraza hit over the fence for a game-tying solo homer. That was the second earned run. Later, Moon Hyun-bin grounded to shortstop to end the third inning.
In the fourth, he retired the leadoff hitter Kang Baek-ho with a straightaway fly to center. But he walked Roh Si-hwan and created a self-inflicted crisis. Heo In-seo flew out to short for two outs, but after two outs Kim Tae-yean hit a double to left field, creating a 2-out, runners at second and third threat, and Lee Do-yoon followed with a high-bouncing infield hit to first that allowed the runner from third to score. They took a 3-2 lead.
The trouble continued when he hit Shim Woo-jun with a pitch. Ultimately, with two outs and the bases loaded, he gave up a bases-loaded walk to Lee Jin-young, marking the fourth earned run. After that, Peraza flew out to shortstop to end the threat and there were no further runs.
In the fifth, he began the inning again in a no-out, runner at second situation after allowing a double to right-center by Moon Hyun-bin. However, he got Kang Baek-ho to fly out to center, then struck out Roh Si-hwan and Heo In-seo consecutively to finish the inning without allowing a run.
His four-seam fastball reached a top speed of 155 km/h that day. He threw 35 four-seam fastballs, 34 sweepers, 16 cutters, 13 forkballs and one two-seamer. From around the fourth inning he developed an abnormality with his fingernail, which hindered control of the sweeper and fastball—an extenuating factor.
Beasley had been widely expected as a "Ponce-level" foreign player. Indeed, his mid-to-high 150 km/h fastball and sharp sweeper are elements that make him dominant. His forkball and cutter are also of a high standard. Catcher Son Seong-bin said, "The ball is so good. When I talk to players from other teams they say the pitch is unbelievably good." Lotte and the other nine clubs know it. His strikeouts exceed innings pitched, with 56 recorded. That amounts to a staggering 10.65 strikeouts per nine innings. He is not walking many batters either, giving up only 2.85 walks per nine innings.
However, Beasley's results are below expectations compared with the praise. In nine games and 47 1/3 innings he has only a 4-2 record and a 3.99 earned run average. His WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is 1.48. His batting average against is a high .291.
Still, there is not great concern about Beasley because he is currently unusually unlucky with BABIP. Beasley's BABIP, his batting average on balls in play, is an astounding .402. That suggests balls that normally wouldn't be hits are falling for hits. He is also not receiving defensive help. His FIP (fielding independent pitching) is only 2.68 (according to Statiz), a league-leading level.
Accumulated bad luck has increased Beasley's burden. To suppress unlucky balls in play he tries to throw harder, which breaks his balance and causes him to wobble. Recent games have followed that pattern. By trying to throw too hard, in the Hanwha game that day and in the June 13 game against NC when he allowed as many as 11 hits, he suffered a broken fingernail that interfered with his throwing. His fastball and sweeper command did not respond.
Last year Beasley was compared to Cody Ponce, having achieved the triple crown and set a single-season strikeout record, and was judged to possess comparable league-altering ability. But now that force is not visible. With historically unlucky batted balls and defensive instability, the environment surrounding Beasley cannot be said to be favorable. He also needs to think about ways to control himself and pitch well.
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