Sporting News staff reports
Rays manager Joe Maddon says the club could use top prospect Jeremy Hellickson in the bullpen down the stretch, not the rotation, much like it did David Price in 2008. Hellickson is 12-3 with a 2.51 ERA for Triple-A Durham. His future is as a starter but he could have an immediate impact on the bullpen.
"You saw he had a little taste of it in spring training; he came out with guys all over the place and he got out of it (against the Yankees)," Maddon told the St. Petersburg Times. "Very casually in a sense, he was not offended by the moment or overwhelmed by the moment. You’re going to see the same kind of approach from him.
"Out of the bullpen, that’s a possibility, and I would not be opposed to that at all. But eventually he’s going to be one of the starters, there is no doubt. To get a taste, I think he could do it, and it would serve him well, and us."
Sporting News staff reports
Rays manager Joe Maddon says the club could use top prospect Jeremy Hellickson in the bullpen down the stretch, not the rotation, much like it did David Price in 2008. Hellickson is 12-3 with a 2.51 ERA for Triple-A Durham. His future is as a starter but he could have an immediate impact on the bullpen.
"You saw he had a little taste of it in spring training; he came out with guys all over the place and he got out of it (against the Yankees)," Maddon told the St. Petersburg Times. "Very casually in a sense, he was not offended by the moment or overwhelmed by the moment. You’re going to see the same kind of approach from him.
"Out of the bullpen, that’s a possibility, and I would not be opposed to that at all. But eventually he’s going to be one of the starters, there is no doubt. To get a taste, I think he could do it, and it would serve him well, and us."