As a young boy growing up in Iowa, Jeremy Hellickson watched minor league pitchers who starred for the Chicago Cubs’ top farm club.
He was able to see up close the exploits of Kerry Wood, a hard-throwing right-hander with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs in the late 1990s. He also saw Cubs prospect Mark Prior in the early 2000s.
Hellickson, a Des Moines native, may have enjoyed watching them, but he certainly doesn’t have their penchant for high-octane fastballs.
Instead, he has survived in the major leagues by using guile, pinpoint control and a simple, clean delivery that has paid off in his short tenure with the Nationals.