Hellickson comes undone in first loss: Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson pitched into the eighth inning on Monday night against the Blue Jays. Unfortunately, after seven solid frames, Hellickson came apart in the eighth. Pitching with a 3-2 deficit, Hellickson allowed that deficit to grow to 6-2 as the Jays won and Hellickson took his first loss to fall to 4-1 on the year. Hellickson gave up five runs, but only two were earned, on eight hits and one walk over 7 1/3 innings. He struck out three and his ERA is at 2.73 on the season. (Updated 05/21/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/24/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Hellickson had another fine performance on Monday night against the Blue Jays over seven innings, no matter what decision he pulled or the fact that he came undone a bit in the eighth. Monday may have been his first loss of the season, but Hellickson easily could have beaten the Jays had he gotten a little more offense earlier in the game. Hellickson doesn’t strike a ton of batters out, but he’s given the Rays a chance to win each time he’s taken the hill. He’s only allowed more than three earned runs in a start once all year and his ERA remains very solid. Hellickson was a two-start hurler for the current scoring period and that means he was a solid option in most mixed Fantasy leagues. His second start of the week comes Sunday at Boston. (Updated 05/21/2012).
05/23/2012 06:45 Dear Mr. Fantasy: Ups and downs of young players
Last year your team was a juggernaut. This year it's sitting in the cellar. What happened? You might even have most of those players back. If you're relying on young talent, our Scott White says prepare to take some lumps in his latest Dear Mr. Fantasy.
05/20/2012 19:47 Hit Parade for Week 8
Some catchers have been bitten by the injury bug in recent days, leaving some owners scrambling. Our Scott White shares some recommendations and helps set your lineups for Week 8 in his Hit Parade.
05/20/2012 08:36 Top 70 starters for Week 8
A lot to take into consideration before setting your pitching staffs for Fantasy Week 8. Our Al Melchior runs through his Top 70 starting options and has all the matchups.
05/16/2012 22:54 Rays cool off surging Red Sox
Jeremy Hellickson pitched six solid innings, Luke Scott had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Boston 2-1 on Wednesday night, snapping the Red Sox's five-game winning streak.
05/15/2012 15:25 By the Numbers: Changes in the air
Is Adam Dunn's power stroke back? Is Nelson Cruz a buy-low candidate? Our Al Melchior studied six weeks of flyball and home run data to identify some sell-high and buy-low sluggers.
On the one hand, Jeremy Hellickson's rookie season was everything Fantasy owners hoped it would be. He won AL Rookie of the Year. He posted a stellar ERA and WHIP. He even exceeded 180 innings. On the other hand, something was missing from the equation -- something that kept the hype to a minimum even as the 24-year-old was piling up accomplishments. That something was strikeouts, and their absence was discouraging for a player considered the second-best pitching prospect entering the year. His strikeout rate of 5.6 per nine innings ranked 74th among the 93 pitchers who qualified for the ERA title, and it's not like he compensated with an exceptionally low walk rate. So what was the secret of his success? Well, his .223 BABIP certainly helped. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much hope of repeating it considering it was the lowest for any pitcher with at least 180 innings in 23 years. Is the implication here that Hellickson was pitching way over his head and will come crashing back down to earth? Not exactly. He was a definite strikeout pitcher in the minors, so chances are that part of his game will come around. With an expected increase in innings, Hellickson could still improve overall even if he regresses in some areas. Just be careful not to draft him as more than a No. 3 starting pitcher. (Updated 1/27/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start