John Sickels On Jeremy Hellickson

John Sickels on Jeremy Hellickson this season:

One prospect I follow closely is Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson, since he went to my high school (Hoover) in Des Moines. He's off to a fast start for Double-A Montgomery, with a 1.64 ERA and a 24/7 K/BB in 22 innings, with just 13 hits allowed. About the only flaw in the numbers is a 0.46 GO/AO mark. He's allowed just one homer, but a fly ball rate that high does make me worried about his gopher ball potential at higher levels. Nevertheless, he now has 17 starts of Double-A under his belt combined with last year, with a 103/22 K/BB in 97 innings and 97 hits allowed, with a 3.43 ERA. It would be logical for Hellickson to move up to Triple-A once David Price gets promoted to the majors. This would position the right-hander for a September trial, but he's a better candidate for '10.