Written by Greg Fertel
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17 February 2008
- Age: 20
- Height: 6?9?
- Weight: 230 lbs
- Position: Starting Pitcher
- Throws: Right
Scouting Report: Betances throws a fastball that tops out at 98 mph. He uses his height to throw on a good plane. His best secondary pitch is a plus knuckle-curve, which he commands very well. Hes spent much of extended spring training working on improving his changeup, and its coming along very well by all accounts. For a tall man, Dellin has very good command and clean mechanics, although they got a little screwy in 2007, resulting in reduced control and some elbow and shoulder worries. He has the kind of overpowering stuff that brings a guy a lot of hardware over the course of a career.
History: Dellin was drafted by the Yankees in the 8th round. He was projected as very early 1st round pick, but fell mostly due to a strong threat that he would go to college if picked by any other team than his hometown Yankees. He got his wish, and his 7-figure bonus. The Yankees and Nardi Contreras quickly got fairly messy mechanical problems straightened out with Dellin, improved his curveball, and got him throwing a changeup very quickly. Dellin, like most high school stars with overpowering stuff, didnt throw the change much to the inferior hitters he was facing. Dellin spent some time in the GCL, pitching 23 innings with 27 strikeouts, 7 walks, and a 1.16 ERA.
This Season: Most of Betances' work this season happened behind the scenes. He worked on all the things that young pitchers do - from holding runners to mechanics to secondary pitches - before making his debut for Staten Island. He pitched only 25 innings in the New York-Penn League before being shutdown with a very mild shoulder injury as a precaution. He maintained an ERA of 3.60, with 29 strikeouts, 17 walks, and no home runs allowed. All and all, those numbers are essentially meaningless.
Outlook and Movement: We'll see him at Charleston this season. Betances has the kind of ability to make his move through the minors much quicker than even your average blue chip pitching prospect. In other words: when/if he breaks out, its going to be big. Until then, the primary goal of the Yankees has to be to simply get Betances innings. Quantity over quality is the concern. He's 20 years old now, so the Yankees need him to start to pick up the pace, although he should have little to prove once he gives himself a chance to do so.
Ranking: I haven't soured on Betances one bit. The Yankees held him back to Staten Island as a part of their super-cautious young approach to young arms. Things would have worked out rosier if he hadn't come down with the shoulder problems. Maybe our big mistake last year was expecting the 6'9" giant to really be able to keep his mechanics straight at such a young age. Ashish and I have Betances at #4 while Eric has him at #6. The Yankees basically have two of the same pitcher in
Dellin Betances and
Andrew Brackman - and at least one of them is going to turn into an absolute monster. That's why he's rated so high, similar to the reason that
Jesus Montero is. No doubt, Betances will have dozens of chances to fail in the coming years, but the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is pretty darn huge.
