Hellickson named Baseball America’s minor league player of the year

Posted Sep 7, 2010 by Roger Mooney

Updated Sep 7, 2010 at 06:54 PM

Rays rookie Jeremy Hellickson, who dominated at Triple A for the Durham Bulls this summer, was named the minor league player of the year by Baseball America.

He’s the third Ray to receive the honor, following Rocco Baldelli in 2002 and Delmon Young in 2005.

Like any precocious student, Jeremy Hellickson was ready to graduate.

He’d been a gifted kid who stood out wherever he went. He earned praise from instructors for his ability to think two steps ahead of the rest of the students. He’d gotten good grades year after year, and he aced his final exam.

So it should have been a shock to find out that he was being held back.

But it wasn’t that much of a surprise for Hellickson. It’s just the way the Tampa Bay Rays operate.

“Around here, you don’t graduate to the big leagues. You earn your way,” Triple-A Durham pitching coach Xavier Hernandez said.

In almost any other organization, going 6-1, 2.59 in nine Triple-A starts—capping off a 57-20, 2.73 record in five minor league seasons—would have been enough to lock down a job in the big league rotation. But the Rays do things a little differently.

When David Price was dominating hitters in the World Series in 2008, little did he know that he’d begin the 2009 season in Triple-A with orders to improve his fastball command and his changeup. Jeff Niemann,  the fourth pick in the 2004 draft, spent two seasons in Triple-A learning how to succeed on days when he lacked his best stuff. Wade Davis spent six years in the minors before the Rays deemed him ready for the rotation.

When it comes to pitching, the Rays like to take it slow. Other teams let their top pitching prospects skip Triple-A; the Rays see it as a necessary step.

“Triple-A is very important at finishing the development process,” farm director Mitch Lukevics said. “There are a lot of players who (played) in the big leagues in Triple-A. For a young guy it’s a great training ground.”

Hellickson added plenty of polish. He went 12-3, 2.45 for Durham this year, earning a late August promotion to the big leagues and our Minor League Player of the Year award.

Here is a link to the rest of J.J. Cooper’s story ...

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/player-of-the-year/2010/2610619.html