2014: THE YEAR OF DELLIN BETANCES

From a Killer Bee in 2011, to a bust in 2012, to a turnaround in 2013, Dellin Betances is on track for a breakout year in the Yankees bullpen for 2014. Many of us were saying the same thing about 2012 and after all the talk he did not quite pan out. However, to be fair, he was 24 years old and it is hard to predict how the kids will do in their formative years. For someone who has spent their time in baseball since the age of 18, he has shown a lot of promise and a consistent track of improvement.

In 2011, the year we all first got the opportunity to see him, he had a breakout year splitting time between AA and AAA ball. He impressed enough to get a shot at the major league level. A September call-up, he made his major league debut on September 22, 2011. He did not exactly impress – facing seven batters, walking four and hitting one. Nevertheless, 6 days later, he got a start against the Rays and pitched two scoreless innings, striking out two. In 2012, while we held out hope that he would be ready to take a spot in the rotation, but something was off. Again, he split time between Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he could not get his ERA below 6.

Now 2013 came along and he had a remarkable turnaround. The key difference was that they converted him from starter to middle-reliever. Up to 2012, he had made only three relief appearances.


In 2013, he made 32 relief appearances out of 38 games for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and his ERA dipped to 2.68. Perhaps even more remarkable was the improvement in his control. With a focus on fewer innings, he recorded 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings and five saves.

In the 2014 off-season, there was a lot of focus on starting pitching. We signed Masahiro Tanaka and Hiroki Kuroda, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova are returning, and there is a lot of promise in Michael Pineda. The bullpen has not gotten the same level of attention, and we believe that it could be a vulnerability.

Dellin Betances will turn 26 in Spring Training this year. The Yankees have been developing him for the last 8 years. With all the departures in the pitching staff, including Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees could very much use a right-handed pitcher capable of striking out 10 or more per 9 innings. If the numbers are right, this will be his year.

 
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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