If you have not yet heard the name Jeremy Hellickson, it is probably because people like myself tend to talk way too much about Aroldis Chapman and Stephen Strasburg.  Meanwhile, Hellickson may be the first to arrive in the bigs, and he may have the most value this season.  Why don't we take a look at what Hellickson is doing and learn a little more about who this cat is.

Hellickson entered the year as the second ranked prospect in the best farm system in the Majors (Tampa Bay Rays), according to my buddies at Baseball America (no, they aren't really my buddies but who knows, maybe I'll writing for them one day, I sure do pimp them enough...), and he currently sits at number 20 on the MLB.com list.  Hellickson has been lights out this season.  As crazy as it may sound, his best performance may not have even been his last, in which he went eight innings while holding the Pawtucket Red Sox to two baserunners (one hit, one walk).  Ok, it is crazy to say that was not his best start this year.  He did sit down the first 18 batters he faced, after all! 

Through 10 games and 58 innings of work, Jeremy has a 2.79 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  He has a 60:12 K:BB ratio, and his K/9 is sitting at 9.3.  At 6'1", 185# Hellickson is a good sized right hander who is known as "Hellboy" around the clubhouse.  He employs a deceptive delivery that has all of his pitches leaving the bump at the same angle.  A mid-90's fastball with some downward action is his best pitch, with a change-up and curveball also being thrown for strikes.  All three are considered "plus" pitches, and the only knock on Hellickson is that his fastball can lose its movement sometimes, which makes him hittable.

The only thing holding Hellickson in AAA is the fact that the Rays are simply awesome.  With Wade Davis being their number five starter, and him still owning a 4.01 ERA on the year (even if his WHIP is a tad bit elevated at 1.48) I see it hard to predict when the young stud will get the call.  He is on the 40-Man roster, so there are no hurdles other than people being healthy and performing well at the Major League level.  My gut tells me that unless someone gets hurt, which there is always a good possibility of, we will not see Hellickson until August.