PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — For the second straight season, Jeremy Hellickson will be the Opening Day starter for the Phillies.
Hellickson, 29, accepted the Phillies’ $17.2 qualifying offer after an impressive 12-10 season with a 3.71 ERA. The only 2016 Phillies pitcher to have a lower ERA was 26-year-old righty Jerad Eickhoff (3.65), who Hellickson actually believes deserved to be the Opening Day starter.
“There’s another guy on our staff who probably deserved it a little more, in my opinion,” Hellickson said via Phillies.com. “What [Eickhoff] did last year was pretty remarkable for his first full year.