Ben Heller
|
Position:
RHP
Born:
8/5/1991
Height:
6'3
Weight:
205
B/T:
R/R
Acquired:
Via trade from the Indians on July 31, 2016, along with OF Clint Frazier, RHP J.P. Feyereisen and LHP Justus Sheffield in exchange for LHP Andrew Miller (NYY. Originally drafted in the 22nd round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft (CLE).
Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
| CURRENT SEASON STATS: 3-3 with a 1.69 ERA and 13 saves in 49 games among Akron (Double-A/Indians), Columbus (Triple-A/Indians) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A/Yankees), striking out 55 and walking 14 in 48 innings while allowing 26 hits. |
Info & MLB Debut Date
|
Recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on August 26 when RHP Anthony Swarzak went on the 15-day DL. MLB Debut Date: 8/26/2016 |
Debut Details
| August 26, in a 14-4 win against the Orioles. The third of four pitchers, he tossed one hitless inning, making one error. Of 16 pitches thrown, 11 were for strikes. Coming on to start the eighth inning, he retired the first batter he faced, Francisco Pena, on a fly out to right field. The next batter, Nolan Reimold, popped out foul to the catcher. Hyun Soo Kim reached base on a fielding error by Heller, but the next batter, Manny Machado, grounded into a 6-4 force play to end the inning. |
Player Notes
| This was actually Heller’s second trip to the majors, but the first time he got into a game. He’d been recalled two weeks earlier, along with pitcher Luis Cessa, but was returned to the minors two days later to clear a spot for outfielder Aaron Judge (himself a debutante). Deemed by Baseball America to have the best fastball in the Indians’ farm system coming into the 2016 season, Heller also brings a good slider into his mix and brought a career 2.72 ERA into his big league debut. He split the 2015 summer between Lynchburg (High A/Indians) and Akron, going 0-2 with a 4.02 ERA in 41 games, striking out 58 while walking just 14 in 40 .1 IP and allowing 35 hits. |
2080 Notes
| You can read Reggie Yinger’s early-season scouting report on Heller here. |