Not rushed this year, Hellickson ready to extend himself for Nats

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's forgotten a bit because of his strong performance last season, but Jeremy Hellickson didn't sign with the Nationals until March 17. He made only one Grapefruit League start before the club broke camp and headed north for opening day. It admittedly took some time for Hellickson to feel like he was in regular-season form.

That's not the case this spring. Hellickson did re-sign late again, but at least this time the contract was done before pitchers and catchers reported.

So now the veteran right-hander is experiencing a full spring with the Nationals. And he appreciates the difference that makes.

"You can throw all the live sim games you want, it doesn't compare to game situations and the speed of the real game," he said. "So it was nice to get here before games started this year and get six or seven starts in."

Hellickson made his first Grapefruit League start this afternoon against the Astros, and not surprisingly he looked sharp in tossing two scoreless innings.

With a free and easy throwing motion, Hellickson cruised through his two frames on 31 pitches. He allowed one single, issued one walk and struck out three consecutive batters at one point with a fastball that topped out at 89 mph.

"Try to get ahead, get some quick outs," he said of his approach for a Feb. 27 outing. "You know, just pitching really like it's a real game, throwing everything. The main thing was get strike one and just pound the zone."

Hellickson excelled in that regard last season; his 66 percent strike percentage was the highest of his career. Now he's hoping that kind of efficiency will convince his manager and pitching coach to give him more rope later in games.

You know the drill by now: The Nationals made a point to remove Hellickson before he could face a lineup three times in a start, citing his spotty career track record in that department. The approach may have helped Hellickson sport a 3.45 ERA and 1.073 WHIP in 19 starts, but it also reduced his average start to fewer than five innings.

And it added some extra strain to a Nats bullpen that was strained much of the season for other reasons (injuries to both starters and relievers, subpar performances by some expected to perform better).

With that in mind, manager Davey Martinez admitted today he would like to try to extend Hellickson deeper in games this season.

"You're going to have to push him," Martinez said. "There were some days he goes through five innings really, really well. And then he gets to the sixth inning and everybody makes (a big deal). But I believe we've got to look at some things with him. Whether he falls into a pattern, or something of that nature. I do believe that he can pitch in the sixth or seventh inning, especially when he's going really well. And there's going to be days where he's going to need to do that, give our bullpen a little breather."

Perhaps a full spring with the Nationals will help make it an easier transition for Hellickson this time.

"I've seen it already," Martinez said. "He came in here this year a lot more relaxed. He knows what he has to do. He's been working diligently on his physical being. He knows the trainers. He knows the strength and conditioning guys. He's definitely in a better place than he was coming in here last year and not knowing anyone but, really, me. I think having a whole spring training is going to help him a lot."