Phillies Newcomers: Jeremy Hellickson

The Daily News profiles new Phillies players each day this week leading up to Thursday when pitchers and catchers report for spring training. Tuesday's feature will be on Charlie Morton, Wednesday's will be on Peter Bourjos, and Thursday's will be on David Hernandez.

Role: Starting pitcher
Bats: Right. 
Throws: Right.

Height: 6-1.
Weight: 190.
Age: 28.
Born: April 8, 1987 in Des Moines, Iowa.

How acquired: Via trade with Arizona for minor league pitcher Sam McWilliams.

Twitter: @JHell58
Nickname: Hellboy.

- Avoided arbitration and signed a one-year contract for $7 million for 2016. He could be an interesting asset come trade-deadline time.

- Hellickson has been traded on Nov. 14 in each of the last two offseasons. In 2014, the Rays dealt him to Arizona. In 2015, Arizona sent him to the Phillies.

- Was the 2011 American League Rookie of the Year after going 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA for Tampa. His 189 innings pitched that year was a career high.

- Had arthroscopic right elbow surgery in 2014 and made just 13 starts. Aside from that year, Hellickson has averaged 29 starts in his other full seasons.

- Split the 2012 Gold Glove award with Jake Peavy, of the White Sox. Hellickson joined Fernando Valenzuela as the only pitchers to win a rookie of the year and later a Gold Glove.

- Was a point guard in high school and had an invite to walk on to the University of Iowa's basketball team had he gone to Iowa.

- Hellickson had committed to LSU where he was going to focus solely on baseball, but turned pro right out of high school when Tampa picked him in the fourth round in 2005.

- Has conducted pitching clinics back in Iowa in support of Kids Living Brave, a charity that helps children with cancer. All proceeds from the clinic go to the charity.

- "I think one of the things on top of the obvious is that he's a veteran guy but still just 28 years old," general manager Matt Klentak said when he acquired Hellickson. "He'll pitch at 29 this season, so we're excited that he's still in his prime. And more than anything, he's a competitor. He wants the ball. We've talked about building an environment and we think he'll be a very positive influence on our staff."

Yo, pal

Hellickson has never pitched at Citizens Bank Park. He did face the Phillies last season for the first time, tossing eight solid innings in a win in Arizona last August. One of his 104 pitches that night, however, was a first-inning fastball that broke Maikel Franco's left wrist.

Stats

Career stats for the projected top four starters in the Phillies' rotation