Cardinal Huskies’ graduate Jake Bean took a significant step forward in his quest to become a professional baseball player, as the Cleveland Guardians selected him with the 333rd pick in the 11th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft on July 10.
“You obviously want to play for your hometown team and I got the call from my agent saying that Cleveland will take me and as soon as I heard that, I jumped on it as soon as I could,” the 2023 Huskies’ alum told The Weekly Villager on July 12.
The 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher joins a 2026 Cleveland Guardians draft class that includes 13 pitchers and seven hitters. Bean joins the Guardians after alternating as a starter and relief pitcher for the University of Louisville, recording a 10.29 ERA across 35.0 innings while striking out 31 and walking 16 batters in his junior season.
Bean will travel to Arizona, where he will sign his contract with the Cleveland Guardians and immediately begin training. He added he is unsure whether he will appear in minor league games this year. Each major league club can only carry 165 active minor league players in their organization, so if they activate a recent draftee to play, they must release another player to make room.
Bean acknowledged he experienced uncertainty entering the MLB Draft coming off the heels of a challenging season at Louisville but had opportunities in the 11th round.
He said that his agent told him that Cleveland and the Seattle Mariners were interested in drafting him, but it was ultimately his choice. Bean elected to begin his professional baseball career with his hometown team.
“Growing up as a kid in the Cleveland area and playing baseball, you idolize those guys. They are superheroes to you. Then you get older and my career was getting farther ahead each day,” he added. “You always dream about it, but you never truly expect it to get this far. Now that it has, it is surreal and it is awesome.”
Besides Cleveland being the hometown team Bean rooted for as a child, he cited the organization’s track record of developing young pitching throughout the minor leagues as a strong selling point.
Bean said that although he had spoken with Cleveland last fall, he had had little contact with the organization until the weekend of the MLB Draft.
A three-year varsity baseball player at Cardinal, Bean continued his baseball career in the college ranks by signing with Kent State University and spent two seasons with the Golden Flashes before transferring to Louisville last season for his junior year.
Bean said that as much as he is relishing the opportunity to pitch for his hometown team, he is eager to prove what he is capable of despite hailing from a small village like Middlefield.
“Growing up in a small town, you always want to do things in your career and be proud to say that you came from Middlefield,” he noted. “It is an awesome feeling. It makes it even better having such a supportive community. It is truly such an awesome feeling to see how supportive the community has been behind me. It gives you more of a boost of determination to get as far as you can.”
Although Bean experienced one of the most challenging seasons of his baseball career when he pitched at Louisville, he said that his experience pitching for the Cardinals and competing in the Cape Cod Summer League last year will serve him well as he begins the next phase of his baseball career.
“I think going to the Cape Cod League was truly one of the best experiences that I have ever had. It was the most fun playing baseball I have ever had in my life. I got lucky, we had a good team in terms of the locker room, we had such a great core of guys, and I enjoyed my time there so much,” he said.
Bean said that during his short time at Louisville, he learned more about himself as a person mentally. Although he experienced adversity, it allowed him to take a step back and still maintain a positive attitude.
“The guys around me helped as well. Going through that really taught me how to handle adversity when it comes. Now going into pro ball, it is going to come. The adversity is going to be there, and I am more prepared for when the struggles come. I will turn the page more quickly and get on the other side of it faster,” he said.
