Column: Hellickson effort merits change-up for Rays

If everything goes according to plan, Jeremy Hellickson soon will leave the starting rotation and join the Tampa Bay Rays' bullpen, where he will remain unless some sort of emergency arises.

That's what they tell us, anyway.

After watching this rookie sail through his first three big-league starts like he was playing with the Iowa Stars AAU team back in his home state, though, I trust that plan is written in pencil with a big ol' eraser on the top. If you want to get technical, he is doing things no other pitcher in the history of the game has done and he was at it again Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

The kid improved to 3-0 following a 3-2 victory against Baltimore, and while it's way too soon to get carried away by comparisons it is worth noting he is first pitcher since 1920 to begin his career with three starts that lasted at least six innings while allowing three hits or less.

Since the database the Rays used to verify that only went back to 1920, he might be the first guy ever to start like this.

"I didn't know that," he said afterward, his stoic demeanor giving way to just the barest hint of a smile. "Cool."

Hellickson got through six innings against the Orioles with the same aplomb he did in his first two starts against Minnesota and Detroit. He held Baltimore to one run and three hits before departing after 97 pitches. Of the 18 outs he recorded, 12 came off his change-up - a pitch he has turned into such a weapon that it probably needs protection under the Second Amendment.

And, get this, according to Manager Joe Maddon, Hellickson "wasn't on top of his game."

"But then I thought, 'Good, let's see what he does,'" Maddon said. "And he did. He just pitched. He just absolutely pitched. You normally see that out of a guy who has been here for a while, but from a guy who has only been here a couple of weeks that was impressive to see."

Hellickson has thrown 20 innings since joining the Rays on Aug. 2 from Durham and his numbers are just ridiculous - nine hits, three earned runs, 18 strikeouts and three walks. His ERA is 1.35. It actually went up a bit Sunday.

He is scheduled to start Friday at Oakland but if Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis return from the disabled list healthy and happy as scheduled, Hellickson goes from the rotation to the bullpen. That's basically the way the Rays handled David Price in 2008 and that didn't work out too badly.

"I firmly believe that when you make plans, you stay with your plans and you only adjust when you have to," Maddon said. "So from our perspective, Niemann and Davis will be back. When they're supposed to be back, they will pitch and we'll adjust from there."

But then you think about situations like the fourth inning against the Orioles. Hellickson was struggling a bit with command and Baltimore, trailing 3-1, was threatening with two on with one out.

Instead of getting rattled, Hellickson used just seven pitches to strike out Felix Pie and Jake Fox. He got Pie with a mix of fastballs and curves. Fox was baffled by the change-up.

"He knew what he was doing with it," Fox said. "He kept it down in the zone and it was very deceptive. It looked a lot like his fastball. You saw us swinging over the top of it all day long and you've got to tip your cap to him."

We'll see how things unfold but it's hard to see how the Rays can't keep handing Hellickson the ball every fifth day. The plan may call for one thing, but a change-up is the right pitch to call.