His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Hellickson's sinker averages 88.7 mph, and has touched 91.1.
279 thrown, 41.3% of his pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .462 expected average against them, against .331 on his offspeed pitches.
90 of his breaking balls thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Hellickson's sinker moves 113.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
279 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Hellickson averages 83.9 mph across his arsenal, 6th percentile in the league.
675 pitches in 2019. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 706th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Hellickson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.06 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
675 located pitches in 2019.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Hellickson's cutter leaves the bat at 90.2 mph, against 80.1 off his changeup.
115 and 174 of them thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Hellickson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 30 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
675 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Hellickson goes to the cutter: 26.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 14.1% the rest of the time.
163 two-strike pitches in 2019.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Hellickson throws 36.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.5% with the bases empty.
174 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 501 with the bases empty.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Hellickson releases the ball 5.6 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
675 tracked pitches in 2019.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Hellickson is weak: 86.5 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
675 pitches in 2019. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 69th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Hellickson's knuckle curve carries 14.1 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
90 thrown, averaging 73.7 mph.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Hellickson lands 55.6% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 32.8% of his offspeed pitches.
90 of his breaking balls, 174 of his offspeed pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.0 mph separates Hellickson's sinker from his knuckle curve, 88.7 against 73.7.
279 and 90 of them respectively.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Hellickson works off the plate, with only 40.9% of his pitches in the zone, 24th percentile.
675 pitches in 2019. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 573rd in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Hellickson puts 38.9% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.3% of his pitches to left-handers.
375 pitches to right-handed hitters, 300 to left-handed hitters.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.1% of Hellickson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
102 of 675 located pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Hellickson's knuckle curve spins at 2,845 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
90 thrown in 2019.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Hellickson projects a .408 average, 14th percentile.
675 pitches in 2019. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 649th in MLB.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Hellickson throws a fastball 65.8% of the time, against 59.1% when he is ahead.
193 pitches behind in the count, 193 ahead.
He lives on one side of the plate
Hellickson works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.3 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
675 located pitches in 2019.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Hellickson works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Changeup, Cutter and Knuckle Curve. The sinker is 41.3% of everything he throws.
675 classified pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Hellickson puts 46.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.8% when he is ahead.
193 located pitches behind, 193 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Hellickson throws the changeup 30.4% of the time against right-handers and 20% against left-handers.
375 pitches to right-handers, 300 to left-handers.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Hellickson has thrown 17 4-seam fastballs this season, 2.5% of his pitches, at 88.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
675 classified pitches in 2019.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Hellickson's sinker averages 88.7 mph, and has touched 91.1.
279 thrown, 41.3% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Hellickson's cutter leaves the bat at 90.2 mph, against 80.1 off his changeup.
115 and 174 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.0 mph separates Hellickson's sinker from his knuckle curve, 88.7 against 73.7.
279 and 90 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Hellickson's knuckle curve spins at 2,845 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
90 thrown in 2019.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Hellickson works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Changeup, Cutter and Knuckle Curve. The sinker is 41.3% of everything he throws.
675 classified pitches in 2019.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Hellickson throws the changeup 30.4% of the time against right-handers and 20% against left-handers.
375 pitches to right-handers, 300 to left-handers.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Hellickson has thrown 17 4-seam fastballs this season, 2.5% of his pitches, at 88.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
675 classified pitches in 2019.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .462 expected average against them, against .331 on his offspeed pitches.
90 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Hellickson lands 55.6% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 32.8% of his offspeed pitches.
90 of his breaking balls, 174 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Hellickson's sinker moves 113.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
279 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Hellickson's knuckle curve carries 14.1 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
90 thrown, averaging 73.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Hellickson averages 83.9 mph across his arsenal, 6th percentile in the league.
675 pitches in 2019. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 706th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Hellickson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.06 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
675 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.1% of Hellickson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
102 of 675 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Hellickson works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.3 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
675 located pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Hellickson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 30 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
675 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Hellickson releases the ball 5.6 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
675 tracked pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Hellickson goes to the cutter: 26.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 14.1% the rest of the time.
163 two-strike pitches in 2019.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Hellickson throws a fastball 65.8% of the time, against 59.1% when he is ahead.
193 pitches behind in the count, 193 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Hellickson puts 46.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.8% when he is ahead.
193 located pitches behind, 193 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Hellickson throws 36.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.5% with the bases empty.
174 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 501 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Hellickson is weak: 86.5 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
675 pitches in 2019. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 69th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Hellickson projects a .408 average, 14th percentile.
675 pitches in 2019. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 649th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Hellickson works off the plate, with only 40.9% of his pitches in the zone, 24th percentile.
675 pitches in 2019. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 573rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Hellickson puts 38.9% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.3% of his pitches to left-handers.
375 pitches to right-handed hitters, 300 to left-handed hitters.
Rays
Career team 2010–2014