Hellickson and (Probably Not) Back

Jeremy Hellickson is one of those guys that's had one absolutely outstanding season...which happened to be his rookie year...which happened to get him a Rookie of the Year award. I'm not saying he's a Bob Hamelin type, but he's been...serviceable the last few years. At least he's been doing well enough in Philadelphia that he came close to being traded last month.

However, as this is Philadelphia in the mid-2010's, he's obviously not doing especially well in the wins category. Yeah, he's a great pitcher and still has some really nice stuff, especially in the same rotation as a lot of really nice young arms, but...it's the Phillies. Not great stuff in general, even if you're pitching well.

There's still some buzz about whether or not Hellickson is going to end up being waived somewhere that needs arms (like, uh, maaayyybe the Dodgers?). And here's how I picture that- yeah, Hellickson leaves, boo hoo, but we still have Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez to be good this season, as well as Aaron Nola, Zach Elfin, and Jake Thompson to be better next year- if everyone's on in the future, we'll be fine. Hellickson was a last minute 'we at least need someone who knows who he's doing (that isn't Aaron Harang)' pickup, and while he's done well, he's an import- he's not the priority, and no matter how well he's doing, he's still not the impenetrable piece of the pitching staff that someone homegrown like Jerad Eickhoff or Aaron Nola is.

Still, every game he pitches for the Phillies will likely be a pretty nice one, so hopefully he'll make sure they all count for something.

Coming Tonight- A position player for the Indians that nobody thought anything of...until he started blasting the crap out of the ball.