Fantasy Baseball: How Will Jeremy Hellickson Fare In Baltimore?

The Orioles got some much needed pitching help by picking up Jeremy Hellickson from the Phillies. The full trade looks like this:

Orioles Get

RHP Jeremy Hellickson

Phillies Get

LHP Garrett Cleavinger, OF Hyun-soo Kim, future considerations

Baltimore has finally been getting good starts from Kevin Gausman, but Dylan Bundy continues to struggle and Wade Miley continues to get pounded every five days. Chris Tillman and Ubadlo Jimenez continue to struggle as well.

Believe it or not, Hellickson’s 4.73 ERA currently ranks just behind Bundy for the rotation lead. However, Bundy’s ERA over the last two months is above 6. Hellickson will slide into the rotation behind Tillman and Gausman. He will be the third starter for Baltimore, but how about your team?

Hellickson doesn’t strike out enough batters to warrant consideration in standard leagues, and a move to the American League will likely make things worse instead of better. However, Hellickson has had success in this division before. He posted a 3.78 ERA in five seasons with the Rays.

Don’t get too excited though. He has a 5.01 ERA in 46.2 career innings at Camden Yards. Hellickson is likely still only a spot starter in all but the deepest of leagues.

This is likely bad news for Wade Miley. He would seem to be the one most likely to lose his rotation spot. Conversely, this opens a spot for either Ben Lively or Mark Leiter to permanently enter the Philadelphia rotation. Lively has posted a 3.80 ERA in 42.2 innings this year, so he is worth a look in deeper leagues.