It’s a cool April evening in Bridgewater, N.J., and Reading’s Caleb Ricketts is where no batter wants to be -- in an 0-2 hole. But for Somerset Patriots right-hander Brendan Beck, this is his comfort zone, and after three years of battling injuries, there are few spots he could enjoy more.
Beck’s third offering is just outside -- a brief reprieve for Ricketts. But on the very next pitch, Beck is back to doing what he has gained a reputation for: attacking in the zone for a swinging strike three during his Double-A debut and first action since August of 2023.
There were more than a few at-bats just like that for Beck during a monthlong stretch that saw him go 2-0, posting a 0.93 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings while holding batters to a .149 average.
It had to feel good for the 26-year-old Yankees farmhand, a second-round Draft pick in 2021 out of Stanford whose journey to professional baseball was interrupted by a Tommy John procedure in September 2021 that caused him to miss all of 2022, and more elbow issues that cost him the entire 2024 campaign.
“The biggest thing has been really enjoying being back on the field,” Beck says. “Four starts in, had a good strong month, and I think the big thing for me right now is stacking starts together. The results have been good, and it’s been an enjoyable time so far, so I’m trying to stack starts and have a good long season.”
***
When Beck is on the mound, there is little questioning his abilities. During his debut year of 2023, in 31 innings with High-A Hudson Valley, Beck posted a 1.74 ERA, striking out 35 batters and holding them to a .214 average. And while the sample size was small, his collegiate track record backs up those numbers.
A former All-American and All-Conference player who took the mound in the 2021 College World Series, Beck was not always a pitcher.
“I originally went to Stanford purely as an infielder,” Beck says. “I never really talked to any of the coaches there, and then we went through a coaching change when I was going into my freshman year. I never talked to anyone at Stanford about pitching until I showed up my freshman fall. I pitched a bit my senior year of high school, and going into my freshman year, all of the infield spots were taken.”
Looking to carve out a role with the Cardinal, Beck seized the opportunity to pitch in intrasquad matchups. Finding success quickly, he became a strong contributor in the rotation by the time he was a sophomore.
The rest? History. Beck would rack up accolades -- pitcher of the week awards, the aforementioned All-America and All-Pac 12 honors, all tournament teams -- completing his Stanford career with a 22-10 record and 3.11 ERA, including a 9-3 senior campaign.
And while the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his entry into the MLB Draft, Beck says it was ultimately for the better, helping him improve as a player.
“My time at Stanford was awesome,” Beck says. “I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. Even going through the COVID pandemic in my Draft [junior] season, at the time it felt like, ‘Jeez, what terrible timing.’ That ended up just being a blessing for me, being able go back for my senior year and go to Omaha with that team and take that next step as a prospect and as a pitcher.”
Beck went on to be taken by the Yankees with the 55th overall pick in 2021. Being drafted is what every player in Beck’s position would hope for. What came next, like the pandemic, was less ideal.
Before he could play a competitive game in the Yankees organization, Beck required Tommy John surgery in 2021, costing him all of 2022. When he finally debuted in Rookie ball and then made nine starts with High-A Hudson Valley, he showed he was more than capable, but elbow issues resulted in a second lost season in 2024.
Beck has reintroduced himself in 2025 in a big way, immediately impressing his coaches with his resilience and positive attitude.
“He didn’t seem like a guy that had been out of the game or hadn’t pitched in a while,” says Somerset pitching coach Pete Larson. “He seemed happy, thrilled to be healthy and able to do what he enjoys. Then diving in and talking about pitching and how he likes to attack hitters and how he goes about the game and how he processes it is just at a higher level.”
That first start in April was a reminder of what Beck could do, as he tallied five strikeouts in four innings, and the month overall -- which also saw him win Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for April 14–20 -- was just as strong.
“That first start against Reading at home was his first competitive game -- non-live BP, non–Spring Training game -- since 2023 in Hudson Valley, so I think it was really cool,” Larson says. “When guys fight all the way back from having had a couple of surgeries, it makes it even sweeter, and to have the month that he had in April is outstanding.”
What has impressed Somerset manager Raúl Domínguez is Beck’s confidence and communication skills.
“Just the maturity that he has, the way that he prepares, the communication he has with the catchers and the pitching coach,” Domínguez says of Beck’s intangible qualities. “He’s got really good body language and a good attitude when he’s on the mound. Regardless of what happens in the game, he seems like the same person. He’s got the same personality all the time, and when you see pitchers like that, that’s when they have success.”
Confident. It’s an appropriate way to describe Beck as a pitcher. And he’s got the stuff to back it up. That aforementioned ability to attack the strike zone has made him very effective on the mound. With a goal to get ahead in the count each at-bat, he has found plenty of success.
At his disposal are a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. And the way he wields his pitches is dynamic.
He has “the ability to move the fastball around -- top half of the zone, outside, down in the zone as well at times,” Larson says. “The slider, he can throw it in the zone, and then he can expand off when needed for some chase. Curveball ability, I think that’s a huge pitch for him where he can land that early in counts as well as use it as a two-strike weapon. He can use it to both sides, left and right, so I think having a really sound three-pitch mix and the ability to not just throw them in the strike zone but move them around is that next tier, that elite characteristic of pitching.”
And Beck is fully aware of what he does well. The goal is not always a strikeout but to get the out any way possible.
“I feel like I command the zone really well, I try to throw a lot of strikes, and I’m not necessarily someone who’s just going to go up there and try to overpower guys and go for a strikeout every time,” Beck says. “I think I’m a bit of an old-school pitcher, where if a guy wants to ground out on the first pitch of an at-bat, I’m more than happy to let him do that.
“I throw all pitches in any count, and I really try to identify a hitter’s weakness and see how that compares to my strengths and stay putting the pedal down and getting ahead of guys.”
It’s not just his arsenal that Beck can rely on. It’s also his family.
His older brother, 28-year-old right-hander Tristan Beck, pitched in 40 games for the San Francisco Giants from 2023 to ’24 and began this season 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in 13 games at Triple-A Sacramento.
Former teammates at Stanford, the Becks have been there for each other every step of the way.
“Tristan and I are super close,” Beck says. “We talk every day. Baseball, obviously, brings us really close together, but we talk about all kinds of stuff. Having him at my disposal has just been huge, especially when I made that transition to pitching at Stanford. Having him on the team with me there was huge.”
Tristan has been a sounding board and advisor for Brendan. Whether it’s about pitching or Tristan’s own battles with injuries on his road to the bigs, Brendan says his brother has served as an inspiration and as a model for what is possible.
“He’s had some injury struggles of his own, and to see him persevere and continue to be there for me when things weren’t necessarily going the best for him, when he was able to debut two years ago, I was nothing but happy,” Beck says. “It was really awesome to see him get out there and do his thing and achieve all of his goals that he set. And that’s something that kept things in perspective for me going through my injuries, too.”
***
It has been a long journey, but Beck is back in the zone. He knows this is not the way things were expected to go when he was drafted. But one thing he has done throughout the process is continue to trust in his abilities.
“It’s been long; it’s been frustrating, obviously,” Beck says. “To miss, essentially, three straight years, it’s been really tough. Being a baseball player, you want to be on the baseball field and doing your thing. In that regard, it [stunk]. But I have stayed positive as best I can and trusted that once I can get back to a mound, I still have the talent and the repertoire to make a run at being a big leaguer.”
Beck says the No. 1 goal for 2025 is finishing the season. But in the back of his mind remains a loftier goal.
“For this year, specifically, health is definitely the main thing,” Beck says. “I want to start the year and end the year pitching, after being away for so long the last few years. But also at the same time, we’re all doing this to take steps toward the big leagues, so I wouldn’t say rehabbing the last few years was just to get back to where I am right now.
“Obviously, you always have that goal of progressing through a system and making the big leagues, and I think that can really happen at any time. Health is No. 1, but continuing to develop and progress toward a big league career is the main goal for me this year.”
Robert Hudson is a publications assistant with Yankees Magazine. This story appears in the June 2025 edition. Get more articles like this delivered to your doorstep by purchasing a subscription to Yankees Magazine at www.yankees.com/publications.