Friday Evening Notes On Hellickson And Beckham

Jeremy Hellickson was 6th on this week's Prospect Hot Sheet at Baseball America:

For as long as Hellickson's been in the minor leagues, the question has always been: will his stuff get hitters out at higher levels? Well, in six Triple-A starts, Hellickson has a 3.31 ERA and a 39-12 K-BB mark in 35 1/3 innings, showing a fastball that sits at 90-91 mph, a much-improved changeup and a solid curveball. He won't remind anyone of David Price, but his ability to locate his stuff is superior and he should be in line for big league action by 2010.

Mike Newman at Project Prospect gives his scouting report on Tim Beckham:

Offense: With three singles in the twin bill, Beckham showed lightning quick hands through the zone and an easy, fluid swing. He tattooed fastballs early in the count and did his best to hide his difficulty with breaking balls stemming from a long load and swing path. In watching subsequent video of Beckham, my thoughts are the length of his swing is causing him to guess on pitches leaving him out front on off-speed stuff. He's going to have to learn to keep his weight back and take his hands directly to the ball to better utilize his wrists and become more consistent. The raw ability is there for Beckham to be a high average hitter, but his swing and batting eye need significant refinement. I doubt his power will ever be more than average.

Make sure to read the section titled 'Physique and Athleticism'. And one thing I would add from FirstInning.com on Beckham's splits:

Split PA ISOP BABIP AVG OBP SLG wOBA AWAY 238 .160 .391 .303 .353 .463 .354 HOME 221 .075 .297 .230 .294 .305 .273

Is Bowling Green a pitcher's park? (FI still has Columbus under park factors, and I don't feel like digging.)