Johnny Hellweg called up (first MLB start Friday, 6/28 @PIT); Alfredo Fígaro to DL (right oblique strain)

[TooLiveBrew]

Per the postgame broadcast on FS-Wisconsin

 

Mike Vassallo tweet, linked first by Mass Haas in the MiLB forum.

 

RHP Alfredo Figaro placed on the 15-day DL w/a right oblique strain. RHP Johnny Hellweg recalled from Triple-A @nashvillesounds.

[brewcrewdue80]

Oh the pain it must be to be an Angels fan this season!

 

Well Deserved certainly. If we are going to trade Gallardo or Lohse or both, I think running Peralta and Hellweg out there is key to next season.

[patrickgpe]

love it, hopefully he is put right in the rotation. just too bad that his first start probably won't be in Milwaukee.

[MVP2110]

anyone have a guess when his first start will be? Ive been waiting for him to be recalled. he is imo the highest potential sp we have in our system so excited to see what he has

[TooLiveBrew]

anyone have a guess when his first start will be? Ive been waiting for him to be recalled. he is imo the highest potential sp we have in our system so excited to see what he has

Mass Haas (in the post I linked to in the OP) speculated Hellweg will likely start on Friday in Pittsburgh.

 

Mike Vassallo confirms that hunch:

 

Johnny Hellweg to make his Major League debut in a start on Friday at Pittsburgh.

[Invader3K]

anyone have a guess when his first start will be? Ive been waiting for him to be recalled. he is imo the highest potential sp we have in our system so excited to see what he has

 

Haudricourt just said he'll start on Friday.

[TooLiveBrew]

Also from Mike Vassallo:

 

Johnny Hellweg, acquired by the #Brewers as part of the Zack Greinke trade last season, will wear uniform #40.

[PrinceFielderx1]

Why does it have to be Vs Pitt! Those games are always blackout in my area. I'm happy, but not happy that I can't watch it.

[zurch1818]

Has his season in AAA really been sustainable? I knew he has been pitching well, but it has been a tune to a FIP of 4.48, an extremely low BABIP of .240, and has walked a ton of batters so far this year. It's 5 per 9 innings...almost as much as how many he has been striking out per nine. Do Fangraph minor numbers really mean something? Am I making too much of a small sample? I haven't seen him pitch, so I haven't really seen the whole picture.

 

I'm still excited to see him pitch. I'm just not expecting him to be like a Verlander.

[Bombers]

anyone have a guess when his first start will be? Ive been waiting for him to be recalled. he is imo the highest potential sp we have in our system so excited to see what he has

 

Haudricourt just said he'll start on Friday.

Bummer! I will be at the Sunday game ... Oh well. Still looking forward to his first start.

[PrinceFielderx1]

Has his season in AAA really been sustainable? I knew he has been pitching well, but it has been a tune to a FIP of 4.48, an extremely low BABIP of .240, and has walked a ton of batters so far this year. It's 5 per 9 innings...almost as much as how many he has been striking out per nine. Do Fangraph minor numbers really mean something? Am I making too much of a small sample? I haven't seen him pitch, so I haven't really seen the whole picture.

 

I'm still excited to see him pitch. I'm just not expecting him to be like a Verlander.

 

I heard he has been getting more ground balls, which I suspect is why he's been able to limit the damage of the walks, and that he throws very hard. It will be interesting to see if that's the case. Bottom line is, though, he needs to lower those walk totals. Should he do that I think his strike outs will increase, and he will be a very effective MLB pitcher. Time will tell.

[brewcrewdue80]

Has his season in AAA really been sustainable? I knew he has been pitching well, but it has been a tune to a FIP of 4.48, an extremely low BABIP of .240, and has walked a ton of batters so far this year. It's 5 per 9 innings...almost as much as how many he has been striking out per nine. Do Fangraph minor numbers really mean something? Am I making too much of a small sample? I haven't seen him pitch, so I haven't really seen the whole picture.

 

I'm still excited to see him pitch. I'm just not expecting him to be like a Verlander.

 

Yeah, there's a lot to be concerned about. But overall who else do you want starting? I'd rather put the highest upside guy out there vs. guys that are replaceable. I don't expect much from him, but he is likely the best guy to bring up to see pitch 6ip.

 

DL guys:Estrada,Burgos,Figaro,Fiers. Narveson not looking like an option anymore. There's just no real bodies left to hide Hellweg down in AAA anymore.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Excited to see what this kid has. At least this is something to look forward to for a change.

[The stache]

That's "Big John Hellweg called up", TooLiveBrew.

 

I would love to see him strike out 10 +, just to see Angels fans apoplectic.

[splitterpfj]

He's certainly earned the promotion, now we'll see if his stuff translates to the big leagues.

 

Hellweg's a weird case, the guy can hit 100 MPH, with poor command, so we've got this big, hard-throwing ground ball specialist. Almost anything could happen...good luck Johnny!

[torts]

oh man!! IM GOING TO THIS GAME!! Hellweg v. Cole! awesome!

[Invader3K]

I'm not sure if I like this move or not. Part of me is excited to be able to see the guy pitch on TV, but the other part of me thinks maybe he should have stayed down in AAA to develop further.

[torts]

if not him, then who? they couldhave just brought up Thornburg, right? but he'd be pitching on short rest, and we all saw how much of a disaster he was last year being mismanaged (among other things).

[82brewcrew11]

I'm not sure if I like this move or not. Part of me is excited to be able to see the guy pitch on TV, but the other part of me thinks maybe he should have stayed down in AAA to develop further.

 

One of my bigger complaints about the minor league system is that our pitching prospects are "old". I will admit that they seem to have been a tad more aggressive this year, but they need to be more aggressive with some of these guys. Hellweg will be 25 in October, they need to see what he can do at the major league level. If the major league team was fighting for a playoff spot I might want someone more predictable, but at this point what can he not work on in the big leagues that he will be able to work on in AAA.

[fondybrewfan]

With as hard as Hellweg throws you would think the strikeouts will eventually come. But even if they dont its got to be really hard to square up an upper 90's fastball that has some sink on it. Excited to see him pitch. Peralta, Hellweg, and Nelson could all be in the rotation next year and they all have some decent promise. No aces but a pretty solid group. Plus Jungmann isn't too far behind them.

[JohnBriggs12]

The concerns over the walks and BABIP (a stat I don't put much validity in) are a bit overblown. It's a tradeoff. He walks some people (higher than average walk rate) because of the movement of his fastball, and that same movement keeps hitters from squaring him up (low BABIP). Sinker ballers that throw in the low 90's like say Kameron Loe, are very vulnerable when they leave the ball up, but Hellweg apparently throws hard enough that he can get away with some mistakes up.

[homer]

If he K'd more people I could live with walks.

[LouisEly]

At 6'9" he comes in at much more of a downward plane than, say, a 5'11" Thornburg. If he's utilizing his height like he should (and not throwing sliders from a 3/4 slot like Loe) that downward plane should generate a lot of ground balls, and his 1.95 GO/AO seems to validate that. If he's generating a lot of ground balls the BABIP should not rise much as he moves up because he will have better defense behind him and better defensive positioning due to more thorough scouting of opponents.

 

Thornburg strikes a lot of guys out, but because he's 5'11" he doesn't have that downward plane and when he leaves pitches up (which he has a tendency to do) they get hit hard. With Hellweg even his mistakes that he leaves up will have a downward plane to them, and like JB mentioned, his velocity allows him to get away with some mistakes.

 

Interesting to note that against LH hitters he has walked 30 in 34.2 IP, but against RH hitters he has only walked 14 in 42 innings. Is it fear of LH hitters?

[JackNicholson1974]

I dont understand why Hellweg is getting the call, when typically developing pitchers takes more time, teams are more cautious, etc. But Hunter Morris and Sean Halton are ignored as fill ins for 1b. Just get rid of Morris and Halton if they are not MLB options.

[Invader3K]

I dont understand why Hellweg is getting the call, when typically developing pitchers takes more time, teams are more cautious, etc. But Hunter Morris and Sean Halton are ignored as fill ins for 1b. Just get rid of Morris and Halton if they are not MLB options.

 

This is a great point that I just mentioned on the official BF.net Twitter feed thanks to you. It's not like Yuni's salary justifies keeping him around in lieu of much better performing options at 1B.