Tampa Bay Rays Notes: Longoria, Hellickson

The Tampa Bay Rays have received two pieces of good news on the injury front. Firstly, starter Jeremy Hellickson has been activated from the disabled list after missing the minimum number of days. Hellickson, sidelined due to shoulder fatigue, should be back on the mound today. The 25-year-old right-hander is still looking to establish himself at the game’s highest level after a dazzling minor league career that led Baseball America to rate him the game’s sixth best prospect coming into last season.

Hellickson’s 2012 season has been mediocre at best thus far. FanGraphs has him valued at -0.1 WAR in 78.1 innings, he’s surrendering far more hits than he did a year ago (despite a fortunate BABIP of just .255), and he’s stranding runners at an absurd rate (81%). The end result is a 5.25 FIP that shows just how misleading his 3.45 ERA is. The Rays are hoping that he will make strides now that he’s had some time off to recuperate.

Secondly, Evan Longoria, who hasn’t appeared in a game since April 30, has finally been cleared to resume baseball related activities. Although he’s not expected back until after the All-Star break, this is a positive development for the Rays and their fans. The 26-year-old former Rookie of the Year was batting .329/.433/.561 at the time of his injury.

Sean Rodriguez has gotten the bulk of the playing time at third base in Longoria’s absence, and his bat simply does not compare. Tampa Bay’s offense has struggled all season long, as they’re hitting just .233 as a team with a .691 OPS (12th in the American League).

Currently, the Rays are staying afloat in baseball’s toughest division, and their record currently stands at 41-36, putting them just five and half games back of first place. The return of Hellickson and impending return of Longoria should give them a better chance of keeping their playoff hopes alive.

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