Former Tennessee baseball star Jordan Beck made his MLB debut on Tuesday night for the Colorado Rockies during a game against the Miami Marlins.
While the Rockies fell to the Marlins via walk-off fashion in the 10th inning, Beck’s debut was still memorable thanks to a pair of successful appearances at the plate.
Beck was called up to the bigs on Monday, setting him up for his debut on Tuesday in South Beach. While an injury to Nolan Jones did open up the spot for Beck to join the 40-man roster, the former Tennessee outfielder earned his position on the team before the season.
And he quickly showed why.
Batting eighth in the lineup on Tuesday night, Beck surprisingly had an at-bat in the top of the first inning in his first career MLB game. The Rockies scored two quick runs from their first few batters, followed by a three-run home run from Elehuris Montero in the seven-hole. There’s arguably no better time to have a debut than the first inning, following a home run, with the opposing starting pitcher reeling. And Beck took advantage.
Beck took a ball on the first pitch. Then, on the next pitch, his first swing in the big league resulted in a single up the middle to the centerfielder.
First big league swing, first big league hit for Jordan Beck!
MLB's No. 73 prospect rips a 99.3 mph single for the @Rockies: pic.twitter.com/252SY27gR5
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 30, 2024
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The former Vol’s second at-bat came in the fourth inning in the lead-off spot. Beck swung at the first pitch he saw, a four-seam fastball in the upper-in portion of the zone, out to right field, resulting in a foul out.
Beck’s third at-bat came in the sixth inning as the third batter to the plate, this time with a bit more patience in the box. Beck fouled off a slider, took a ball on a sinker, swung and missed on a slider, took another ball from a slider, and then singled to center field off a 93 MPH sinker on the fifth pitch.
Sean Bouchard grounded out into a fielder’s choice just three pitches later, resulting in a force out from Beck at second base to end the inning.
Beck’s fourth and final at-bat came in the top of the ninth inning with the Rockies leading 5-0. With Beck as the second batter to the plate, the former Vol went down on three straight strikes: a 92 MPH four-seam looking, an 83 MPH splitter swinging, and another 83 MPH splitter swinging.
Unfortunately for Colorado, though, the Rockies’ pitching staff couldn’t put the Marlins away in the final frame. The Rockies let up five runs on four hits with no errors in the bottom of the ninth, setting up extra innings.
Colorado added a run in the top of the tenth inning with an RBI double, but it was Miami who won the game on a walk-off RBI single to right from Dane Myers.
The moment certainly didn’t look too big for Beck, a player who has competed in high-pressure games at Tennessee and on the minor league circuit. Beck was named the Rockies’ spring training MVP before his call-up on Monday.
The Rockies’ loss on Tuesday pushed Colorado’s record to a dismal 7-22, but that should keep the door open for management to prioritize young talent moving forward. With an impressive debut on Tuesday, it’s safe to assume that Beck will have more chances to impress with two games left in the series.
The Rockies and Marlins will square off for Game 2 on Wednesday evening at 6:40 p.m. with Game 3 happening on Thursday at 12:10 p.m. ET.
First career at-bat ✅
First career hit ✅ pic.twitter.com/ZfoSx7epW7
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 30, 2024
