The Tampa Bay Rays optioned Jeremy Hellickson to Class A Charlotte on Tuesday night.
Over his first two-plus years in the Major Leagues, the right-hander had a 3.06 ERA and a 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. After a poor outing on Monday against the Kansas City Royals, Hellickson has a 5.21 ERA in 27 starts.
His struggles this season have related to his secondary pitches.
From 2010 to 2012, hitters swung out of the zone 37 percent of the time on his changeup and curveball. On those pitches he missed the zone nearly 60 percent of the time.
This season 48 percent of those pitches are actually finding the zone.
"After getting hitters to chase on nearly one-third of his hooks out of the zone in the previous two-plus seasons, that number is below 25 percent this season. The less favorable location has led to a .271/.313/.408 line on his secondary pitches, a huge leap from the .202/.247/.342 he had in seasons prior, writes Tommy Rancel.