He's pitched very well. He deserved this. |
He's put up big numbers in the Minor Leagues and as an organization, we feel like he's got nothing left to prove. And for a guy like him, he needs to play. |
He's ready to go, |
He's seeing the ball good and that's all you can ask right now. |
He's someone we don't want to rush, obviously. If we have the slightest apprehension about getting him out there ... it's a long season, and if he has to miss a week or something like that, it's something we can do. |
He's someone we don't want to rush. |
He's starting to gain some ground out there. |
He's swung the bat fine. We sat him out for a game because of a little bit of a groin and leg issue, but I'm not concerned about him. He's had a big game already, and he's in the three hole for a reason. We don't worry about him. |
He's the kind of guy that has a very resilient arm. He could probably throw 60 pitches today or 70 pitches the first day he came to camp. Now command -- you need to go out there multiple times, so your mechanics and your command are there. |
He's the one guy that we don't want to let beat us. The lineup that they have now is not as easy to do that with as it was before. [Matt] Holliday certainly put up some impressive numbers last year and gets your attention behind him, but Helton is a guy that we don't want to let beat us. |
He's throwing cutters. He's throwing into left-handers, throwing changeups to left-handers, and it used to be just sinkers and changeups away for effect and go back out there. He's pitching in a lot more and he's manipulating the baseball off his fastball. |
He's throwing the ball where he wants to now -- his velocity has never been an issue. We've made quite a few moves in the bullpen and this is another one. [He's] another high round pick who we think is going to be a talented guy. |
He's tough to deal with, even for low-ball pitchers, because he's such a good low-ball hitter. |
He's very composed. It doesn't look like a whole lot bothers him. Things aren't racing for him. You can tell he's been around the game some. |
He's walked the tightrope most of his career. |