Rays will wait for future after demoting young prospects

Jeremy Hellickson would have liked another outing or two or three to show the Rays brass what he can do on the mound before being sent back to minor league camp.

But Rays manager Joe Maddon said he saw all he needed during Hellickson's two outings, which encompassed all of 2 2/3 innings.

"Yeah, absolutely," Maddon said Tuesday afternoon. "Very calm, very calm strike thrower with his fastball. The changeup as advertised, spectacular change-up. The breaking ball needs to be tightened up a bit, but he struck (Derek) Jeter out on a pretty good breaking ball, so it's there. Holds runners well. All that stuff, he did a nice job."

The Rays announced before Tuesday night's game with the visiting Red Sox at Charlotte Sports Park that Hellickson, outfielder Desmond Jennings and left-handed pitcher Alex Torres were optioned to minor league camp.

The moves were made so Hellickson and Torres can get more innings and prepare for their upcoming seasons. Jennings will continue to rehab his sprained wrist from the minor league side of the complex.

"It wasn't too big of a shock, maybe just a little bit with the way I threw, but I knew it was coming some time, but no one wants that call into the office and told you're getting sent back that down," Hellickson, 22, said. "I'll just come (to minor league camp) and do the same thing I was doing up there, hopefully."

Hellickson faced eight batters in his two outings. He struck out six, including the last four he faced. He allowed one hit.

That's all.

"I like him a lot now that I had a chance to see him and get to know him a little bit," Maddon said. "He's got the right makeup to do it also."

Hellickson was surprised to find the pace at his first big league spring training what he called "laidback."

"I really didn't know what to expect coming, so I just sat back and just kind of watched the guys," he said. "It was a lot more laidback than I thought. Everybody just got their stuff done and did what they needed to do to get ready for the game and play 162 games a year."

Hellickson said he would have loved the opportunity for a few more innings with the big club.

"I definitely would have liked to pitch a little bit more, obviously, but I think they put me in some tough spots," he said. "I showed them I could come out of the bullpen. I thought I did everything, not that I needed too, but I think I showed them what I can do. Hopefully, it was enough for them. But we'll see what happens from here."

Hellickson will open the year with Triple A Durham.

Maddon said both Hellickson and Jennings, who will also open the year at Durham, could find themselves in the big leagues this summer providing they continue to develop.

"Both of those guys to me are, simply, they got to go back out and they got to perform well to earn their right back up here," Maddon said. "If we have a need and they're playing to their level of abilities, then you definitely consider Desmond in the outfield, obviously, and Jeremy as a pitcher. Stuff-wise and ability-wise they can play here. But you would want them to be playing at a good level before you brought them back up."

Hellickson said the experience in big league camp fueled his desire to reach the big leagues.

"I think so," he said. "I know it will be tough, so it's kind of hard to think too much ahead, but I'm definitely itching to get up there. It definitely gave me a little idea of what it was like and how much better it is up there."

Torres, who came to the Rays last August in the Scott Kazmir trade, reached Double A in 2009 so he's farther behind than Hellickson.

Like Hellickson, Maddon had his first look at Torres this spring.

The 22-year-old Torres didn't disappoint.

In five innings over three outings, the hard-throwing left-hander allowed three hits and a run and struck out four. He also won two games.

"I liked the look a lot," Maddon said. "He showed good mound composure. Plus fastball, plus-plus curveball, a little slider and a two-seam fastball and a change-up. So he's got pitches that go in both directions and he's got plenty of velocity to make all of the other things work. Very good move to first base, holds runners extremely well. Good athlete. He also showed very well here."