DM native Jeremy Hellickson vs Twins

[Steve]

Des Moines native and Hoover grad Jeremy Hellickson will make his much anticipated MLB debut Monday against the Twins. The Rays selected him in the 4th round of the '05 draft. He has excelled in his minor league career and is considered talented enough to be a starter for many ML teams. The Rays currently have a strong starting rotation which has delayed Hellickson's debut, but he is being called up for a spot start to give the other starters an extra day of rest.

It should be a good match-up against Carl Pavano and the Twins. The Twins have won 8 straight games and Pavano is 8-0 in his last 10 starts.

 

[IowaStateClones]

Des Moines native and Hoover grad Jeremy Hellickson will make his much anticipated MLB debut Monday against the Twins. The Rays selected him in the 4th round of the '05 draft. He has excelled in his minor league career and is considered talented enough to be a starter for many ML teams. The Rays currently have a strong starting rotation which has delayed Hellickson's debut, but he is being called up for a spot start to give the other starters an extra day of rest.

It should be a good match-up against Carl Pavano and the Twins. The Twins have won 8 straight games and Pavano is 8-0 in his last 10 starts.

I played against hellickson in high school and he threw very hard. My team struggled to even hit a ball in play off of him. He's a great pitcher and i hope he does great in the bigs. Plus it would also be cool to say I went up to bat against a major league pitcher.

 

[GeronimusClone]

I wish him a good career, but hope he gets his *** kicked tonight.

 

[CylentButDeadly]

I went 2-3 with an RBI against him and we won 2-1, granted he was still a freshman at the time, but that's beside the point, I can still say I got a couple hits off a future major leaguer, and that's good enough for me.

I also pitched to Ryan Sweeney in AAU ball and he hit a HR off me that I think is still traveling.

Best of luck to Hellickson though. He's a good kid and he has tremendous talent.

 

[cybsball20]

Before the season, someone on MLB Tonight said that the Rays had SEVEN starters that would be a 1-2 or 3 for just about any team in the Majors. They included the 5 starters, Sonnenstine and Hellickson... Pretty high praise from a reputable show.

 

[jtd9046]

Big 10 games for the Twins as they finish a stretch of 17 road games out of 20. 4 at Tampa, 3 at Cleveland, and then 3 on the South Side.

It would be nice to get to the rookie early tonight and set the tone for a tough stretch.

 

[l2alphmacchio]

As other people have mentioned on here, I as well got to play against Hellickson, Sweeney, Clement, and Macri. I wish nothing but the best for all these guys. Can't wait to see Jeremy's debut tonight.

 

[mizouse87]

I had the opportunity to play with Hellickson at Hoover. We'll all be watching tonight hoping he can take it to the Twins. He's got some major upside that's for sure.

 

[l2alphmacchio]

Any good ideas as to where to go to watch this tonight? (other than the Ridgemont or 3Bag that CW will suggest?)

 

[ca4cy]

I didn't get to see the game but caught the highlights on Baseball Tonight. They raved about him.

I've never seen him pitch before so my sample size is small, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a more effortless delivery. I would have sworn he was warming up.

 

[l2alphmacchio]

He was very consistent through 5. The Twins were giving him the first pitch until the 4th, and only one player really had a square hit off of him (Kubel's HR). You could tell that no one had seen him before as they couldn't get a good read on his changeup. He located his offspeed really well. Plate umpire had a fairly thin zone (for both teams) or else I don't think he would have given up those 2 walks.

 

[ISU_phoria]

He pitched a great game and kept the Twins off balance for most of the night. On any other team, he'd be on the roster permanently after a performance like that, but with the Rays, he pitched a great game and was sent immediately back down to the AAA club.....tough break. (He'll be back soon enough, though)

 

[Wesley]

Did they send him back to the minors?

 

[l2alphmacchio]

Yes, but it was a planned one day option to give the existing starters a day of rest. He earned a spot on the bullpen rotation during the playoffs.

 

[nileo]

Great to see a local boy doing well. With him coming out of the bullpen, combined w/ the starters the Rays currently have, they will be a tough team to contend w/ in the playoffs. I'm a Yankee fan and do not want a 7 game series w/ the Rays rotations.

 

[Iastfan112]

He pitched a great game and kept the Twins off balance for most of the night. On any other team, he'd be on the roster permanently after a performance like that, but with the Rays, he pitched a great game and was sent immediately back down to the AAA club.....tough break. (He'll be back soon enough, though)

He pitched pretty well but don't get too carried away, this was a team missing its 2(Hudson), 3(Mauer), and 4(Morneau) hitters.

 

[jamestaylor]

He pitched pretty well but don't get too carried away, this was a team missing its 2(Hudson), 3(Mauer), and 4(Morneau) hitters.

lol. Isnt it a team that had won 9 games in a row?

 

[bawbie]

lol. Isnt it a team that had won 9 games in a row?

No, it was 8 in a row against AAA level teams (O's, Royals and Mariners)

 

[RhoadsRage]

He's throwing another gem tonight against Detroit.

 

[BigSkyCy2]

He's throwing another gem tonight against Detroit.

A 3-hitter with 7 K's through 7 is good?