Looking forward to seeing this cat play!
Photo by Brazos Valley Bombers
Texas A&M Baseball
JUCO star Michael Helman brings big bat, versatility to Aggie Baseball
Michael Helman’s 2017 junior college numbers read like they’re straight from a video game. He posted a ridiculous .487 batting average, 17 home runs, 103 runs scored, 30 stolen bases and only 13 strikeouts in 283 plate appearances.
A stat line like that is impressive no matter at what level of baseball you're playing, which is why Texas A&M recruiting coordinator Justin Seely was not at all surprised when Helman, who is playing summer ball with the Brazos Valley Bombers, was named the NJCAA Player of the Year.
“Finally it came out, and I was like, ‘There’s no way he can’t be it,'” Seely recalls. “His numbers were just eye-popping.”
Ever since Hutchinson Junior College in Hutchinson, Kansas, was the only school to give him a scholarship offer out of high school, all Helman has done is hit. He hit over .400 and stole 25 bases as a freshman, and then built on that as a sophomore to put together one of the best seasons in junior college history, shattering several conference and team records in the process.
In the 60 games the Blue Dragons played in 2017, Helman recorded 38 multi-hit games and five multi-home run games. He had at least three hits on 16 different occasions, and he never struck out more than once in a game.
Joel Powers/Hutchinson CC
While playing for Hutchison Junior College in Kansas last year, Helman played multiple positions and hit a staggering .487 at the plate.
“He’s just a great hitter to all gaps,” says Bombers head coach Trey Porras.
“He flashes power to the pull side, which is nice, and he just handles the bat so well.
"He doesn’t take a big swing. It’s very compact, and he finds a way to get the barrel to the ball.”
His dominance was on full display when Hutchinson traveled to Seward County Community College in early March of last season. In a four-game series, Helman went 11-18 at the plate with five home runs and 10 RBI as the Blue Dragons scored double-digit runs in all four games.
“It was awesome,” Helman says with a smile. “I was on a roll.”
Helman’s average was above the .500 mark for the majority of the season, and he was even better in clutch situations, hitting a preposterous .565 with runners in scoring position and .494 with two outs.
“We knew he was a good player, and we knew he was capable of doing all that,” Seely says, “but it’s one of those things where you get on a run like that and it gets kind of hard to stop.”
Helman came across Texas A&M’s radar last fall prior to his sophomore season, when assistant coach Will Bolt went to Hutchinson to see Helman’s teammate, pitcher Nolan Hoffman. The Aggies were already aware of Helman at that time, but they were undecided on whether or not they wanted to offer him a scholarship. With Austin Homan heading into his senior year and Braden Shewmake yet to fully shine in his breakout freshman campaign, they wanted an infielder who could play shortstop.
Helman, who grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, playing with and against A&M outfielder Logan Foster, didn’t fit the bill but was ultimately too good to pass up.
“Michael didn’t necessarily fit that for us right away, but we knew he was a really good player,” Seely says. “The decision came down to, ‘Do we want to take someone who fits who we are or do we want a guy that fits our need right now?’"
Bolt gave Helman a call a few days later with a scholarship offer, and Helman accepted without even taking a visit to Aggieland. He had become somewhat familiar with A&M through Kyle Simonds, another Hutchinson product who went on to star for the Aggies in 2015 and 2016, so it was easy for him to pass up the interest he received from Houston, Kansas State and Missouri State.
“Ever since I saw him playing here,” Helman says, “I was like, ‘I want to go play there.’”
Helman has done nothing but impress so far this summer for the Bombers. Through 31 games, the 6-foot-1 infielder is hitting .331 with a team-leading four home runs, 13 RBI and 14 stolen bases, but his positive, team-first attitude has caught as much attention as his offensive production.
“If he was a football player, he’d be the guy who scores a touchdown and just gives the ball to the ref,” Porras says. “Not flashy, just puts his head down and carries himself the right way. He’s the old-school type (of) kid. Very enjoyable to coach and to be around the team.”
How Helman fits into the Aggies’ 2018 plans is yet to be determined, but he has a couple of things going for him. First, he is very versatile and can play anywhere on the field. He played exclusively at catcher for most of his life and only moved to the infield when Hutchinson didn’t have a second baseman his freshman year. He can play second base, third base or the outfield and even pitched a little bit in junior college.
“He has grown physically, gotten more athletic, and he’s very versatile,” Seely says. “He’s a guy that has played baseball from a lot of different perspectives, so I think that probably makes the game easier for him in some regards — he’s seen it from every angle.”
Joel Powers/Hutchinson CC
Helman will compete for a starting spot when he steps on campus, and many expect him to man second base for the Aggies in 2018.
He is also a good athlete who can bunt, work deep counts and run, meaning he can make things happen offensively even if it takes some time for him to adjust to SEC-caliber pitching. And, most importantly, he can flat-out rake.
“He’s a hard-nosed player. He just gets after it. I think he’ll fit in just fine. He’s not a big vocal guy, but he’ll set a good example for the guys coming in,” says A&M first baseman and Bomber teammate Chris Andritsos. “He had a great year at JUCO, and he shows it here. He’ll definitely be a big contributor for us next year.”
With Homan graduating and Shewmake expected to slide over to shortstop, Helman might get the first shot to be the Aggies' second baseman next year. There is still a lot of time between today and opening day, however, so it is impossible to know exactly what role he will play.
“I’m not a coach so I don’t know what they’re going to be doing,” Helman says, “but I’m just going to compete for a spot, and hopefully I can get a starting spot at second base.”
Helman is taking summer classes at A&M while playing for the Bombers and has already gotten the opportunity to meet most of the incoming recruiting class. He says he is looking forward to the beginning of fall practice and is enthusiastic about playing for an elite college program like Texas A&M.
“I’ve gotten to meet all the freshman already, so I’m already pretty good friends with all them,” Helman says. “I’m just super excited for the change of scenery and a new atmosphere. It’s going to be a great experience.”
And putting up video game-like numbers while wearing maroon and white would certainly make the experience even greater.
A stat line like that is impressive no matter at what level of baseball you're playing, which is why Texas A&M recruiting coordinator Justin Seely was not at all surprised when Helman, who is playing summer ball with the Brazos Valley Bombers, was named the NJCAA Player of the Year.
“Finally it came out, and I was like, ‘There’s no way he can’t be it,'” Seely recalls. “His numbers were just eye-popping.”
Ever since Hutchinson Junior College in Hutchinson, Kansas, was the only school to give him a scholarship offer out of high school, all Helman has done is hit. He hit over .400 and stole 25 bases as a freshman, and then built on that as a sophomore to put together one of the best seasons in junior college history, shattering several conference and team records in the process.
In the 60 games the Blue Dragons played in 2017, Helman recorded 38 multi-hit games and five multi-home run games. He had at least three hits on 16 different occasions, and he never struck out more than once in a game.
Joel Powers/Hutchinson CC
While playing for Hutchison Junior College in Kansas last year, Helman played multiple positions and hit a staggering .487 at the plate.
“He flashes power to the pull side, which is nice, and he just handles the bat so well.
"He doesn’t take a big swing. It’s very compact, and he finds a way to get the barrel to the ball.”
His dominance was on full display when Hutchinson traveled to Seward County Community College in early March of last season. In a four-game series, Helman went 11-18 at the plate with five home runs and 10 RBI as the Blue Dragons scored double-digit runs in all four games.
“It was awesome,” Helman says with a smile. “I was on a roll.”
Helman’s average was above the .500 mark for the majority of the season, and he was even better in clutch situations, hitting a preposterous .565 with runners in scoring position and .494 with two outs.
“We knew he was a good player, and we knew he was capable of doing all that,” Seely says, “but it’s one of those things where you get on a run like that and it gets kind of hard to stop.”
Helman came across Texas A&M’s radar last fall prior to his sophomore season, when assistant coach Will Bolt went to Hutchinson to see Helman’s teammate, pitcher Nolan Hoffman. The Aggies were already aware of Helman at that time, but they were undecided on whether or not they wanted to offer him a scholarship. With Austin Homan heading into his senior year and Braden Shewmake yet to fully shine in his breakout freshman campaign, they wanted an infielder who could play shortstop.
Helman, who grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, playing with and against A&M outfielder Logan Foster, didn’t fit the bill but was ultimately too good to pass up.
“Michael didn’t necessarily fit that for us right away, but we knew he was a really good player,” Seely says. “The decision came down to, ‘Do we want to take someone who fits who we are or do we want a guy that fits our need right now?’"
Michael just forced our hand in terms of how he played. We felt like that really matched up with our culture, the style of baseball that we play.
“Michael just forced our hand in terms of how he played. We felt like that really matched up with our culture, the style of baseball that we play, and on top of that, he just keeps getting hits and he’s very versatile.”Bolt gave Helman a call a few days later with a scholarship offer, and Helman accepted without even taking a visit to Aggieland. He had become somewhat familiar with A&M through Kyle Simonds, another Hutchinson product who went on to star for the Aggies in 2015 and 2016, so it was easy for him to pass up the interest he received from Houston, Kansas State and Missouri State.
“Ever since I saw him playing here,” Helman says, “I was like, ‘I want to go play there.’”
Helman has done nothing but impress so far this summer for the Bombers. Through 31 games, the 6-foot-1 infielder is hitting .331 with a team-leading four home runs, 13 RBI and 14 stolen bases, but his positive, team-first attitude has caught as much attention as his offensive production.
“If he was a football player, he’d be the guy who scores a touchdown and just gives the ball to the ref,” Porras says. “Not flashy, just puts his head down and carries himself the right way. He’s the old-school type (of) kid. Very enjoyable to coach and to be around the team.”
How Helman fits into the Aggies’ 2018 plans is yet to be determined, but he has a couple of things going for him. First, he is very versatile and can play anywhere on the field. He played exclusively at catcher for most of his life and only moved to the infield when Hutchinson didn’t have a second baseman his freshman year. He can play second base, third base or the outfield and even pitched a little bit in junior college.
“He has grown physically, gotten more athletic, and he’s very versatile,” Seely says. “He’s a guy that has played baseball from a lot of different perspectives, so I think that probably makes the game easier for him in some regards — he’s seen it from every angle.”
Joel Powers/Hutchinson CC
Helman will compete for a starting spot when he steps on campus, and many expect him to man second base for the Aggies in 2018.
“He’s a hard-nosed player. He just gets after it. I think he’ll fit in just fine. He’s not a big vocal guy, but he’ll set a good example for the guys coming in,” says A&M first baseman and Bomber teammate Chris Andritsos. “He had a great year at JUCO, and he shows it here. He’ll definitely be a big contributor for us next year.”
With Homan graduating and Shewmake expected to slide over to shortstop, Helman might get the first shot to be the Aggies' second baseman next year. There is still a lot of time between today and opening day, however, so it is impossible to know exactly what role he will play.
“I’m not a coach so I don’t know what they’re going to be doing,” Helman says, “but I’m just going to compete for a spot, and hopefully I can get a starting spot at second base.”
Helman is taking summer classes at A&M while playing for the Bombers and has already gotten the opportunity to meet most of the incoming recruiting class. He says he is looking forward to the beginning of fall practice and is enthusiastic about playing for an elite college program like Texas A&M.
“I’ve gotten to meet all the freshman already, so I’m already pretty good friends with all them,” Helman says. “I’m just super excited for the change of scenery and a new atmosphere. It’s going to be a great experience.”
And putting up video game-like numbers while wearing maroon and white would certainly make the experience even greater.
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