Jeremy Hellickson: The Rise of Tampa Bay's 'Hellboy'
Walking back to the dugout after pitching a 1-2-3 seventh inning, Jeremy Hellickson was sent off the field with a chorus of cheers. He was more than worthy of them, having just thrown seven solid innings in his major league debut for Tampa Bay, a 4-2 win for the Rays.
It was tremendous and dazzling, the sight of the highly-touted rookie mowing down the Minnesota Twins hitters left and right. The number one prospect in the Rays organization had come through in his first thrusting into the spotlight. And he wasn't finished.
"Hellboy", as he's nicknamed, ended up going 4-0 last season in parts of two months with Tampa Bay. The second start he had was on the road in Detroit, where he proceeded to shut-out the Tigers for seven innings, making even their best hitters, including Miguel Cabrera (0 for 3 with a strikeout) look rather foolish.
So now we enter a new season, one in where the Rays enter looking like a complete different team. No Carl Crawford. No Carlos Pena. No Matt Garza. Seems like you could go on for a while with all the names the Rays lost, and the truth is, you certainly can. But one thing that hasn't changed, despite trading Garza, is the fact that a major strong-point for the Rays is their starting pitching. And Hellickson provides plenty of assurance to that point.
Hellickson, 23 (looks like 17), is by far the smallest man in the rotation, with David Price (6'6"), James Shields (6'4"), Jeff Niemann (6'9"), and Wade Davis (6'5") easily towering over his 6'1", 185-pound stature. But he has the brains, heart, and most importantly arm, to overcome his lack of supreme size. His low-90's fastball is thrown with such ease, making it hard to recognize the difference in release when he uncorks a dominating change piece or a spike curve.
When trading Garza, one thing was clear to Rays fans, and that was the fact that ownership was slicing and dicing payroll. Another point that the trade proved, was the Rays' confidence in their young right-hander from Des Moines, Iowa, where he was drafted out of in the 4th round by Tampa Bay back in 2005.
It's hard to believe he'll still be considered a rookie when this season kicks-off. Not long before Hellickson's impressive opening act, David Price came to the majors as the most hyped pitcher in franchise history. Despite his amazing success last season, not even he had a start like Hellickson. No one in a Rays jersey ever has.
Hellickson could have been traded away many a time in the past, as a hot prospect that the Rays could have dealt for an all-star caliber player. But it seems not trading him, at least so far, is paying off. There is always a chance of him falling off his game a bit, or the fact that lefties have a high .301 batting average against him, compared to .154 versus right-handers. But it wasn't a good fit having him in the bullpen, so while moving Shields out would have been the prime choice for Tampa Bay fans, there was no value in doing so.
It should be exciting to see what kind of season will transpire for this potential up-and-coming hurler. But if it's any indication of what happened last August, then "Hellboy" should remain a hot commodity in the Rays rotation.
