ANDERSON, S.C. – Former Trojan hurler Landon Beck continues to thrive in the minor leagues and has been promoted to the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Beck opened the season with Double-A Springfield (Mo.) of the Texas League and posted a 2-2 record in 19 relief appearances on the mound, with one save.
The hard-throwing right-hander posted a 4.71 ERA with Springfield this season and fanned 23 batters, including 13 in his last 18 innings of work.
Beck allowed a pair of hits and one earned run, while striking out two in his last appearance with Springfield, as the Cardinals dropped the opening contest of an eight-game homestand last Saturday night with a 6-2 loss to the Tulsa Drillers. Coincidentally, Beck began his stint in Springfield while squaring off against the Drillers a year ago.
In his debut with Memphis Wednesday night, Beck gave up one hit and recorded a strikeout, while tossing an inning of relief in the Redbirds' 11-0 shutout of the Isotopes.
Memphis (39-27) is currently in first place in the Pacific Coast League's American Southern Division, 7 ½ games in front of Nashville. The Redbirds, who are in the midst of a six-game road swing, play their home games in downtown Memphis at AutoZone Park. The park, which was built in 2000, was named the 2009 Minor League Ballpark of the Year by Baseball America.
After closing out his collegiate career in 2014, Beck made his professional debut with the Johnson City (Tenn.) Cardinals in the Coastal Plains League and worked his way up to the New York-Penn League's State College Spikes before moving to Peoria in 2015. He was promoted to Palm Beach in May, 2016 and moved to Springfield in mid-May, 2017.
He owns the school record for strikeouts in a single season with 90, which he set during the 2014 campaign.
