Yankees Top Prospect Countdown: #3 Dellin Betances

#3 – Dellin Betances

Bats: R            Throws: R
Height: 6’8”    Weight: 260
D.O.B.: 3/23/88          Highest MiLB Level: AAA (short MLB call-up in 2011)

Stats:
2006 (Rookie): 23.1 IP, 1.16 ERA, 5 R, 3 ER, 7 BB, 27 K, 0.9 WHIP, 5.4 H/9, 0.4 HR/9, 2.7 BB/9, 10.4 K/9
2007 (Low-A): 25.0 IP,  3.60 ERA, 11 R, 10 ER, 17 BB, 29 K, 1.640 WHIP, 8.6 H/9, 0 HR/9, 6.1 BB/9, 10.4 K/9
2008 (Rookie, A): 121.2 IP, 3.92 ERA, 64 R, 53 ER, 62 BB, 141 K, 1.332 WHIP, 7.4 H/9, 0.7 HR/9, 4.6 BB/9, 10.4 K/9
2009 (A+): 44.1 IP, 5.48 ERA, 29 R, 27 ER, 27 BB, 44 K, 1.692 WHIP, 9.7 H/9, 0.4 HR/9, 5.5 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
2010 (A+, AA): 85.1 IP, 2.11 ERA, 25 R, 20 ER, 22 BB, 108 K, 0.879 WHIP, 5.6 H/9, 0.4 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, 11.4 K/9
2011 (AA, AAA): 126.1 IP, 3.70 ERA, 61 R, 52 ER, 70 BB, 142 K, 1.361 WHIP, 7.3 H/9, 0.6 HR/9, 5.0 BB/9, 10.1 K/9
2011 (MLB): 2.2 IP, 6.75 ERA, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 2 K, 2.625 WHIP, 3.4 H/9, 0 HR/9, 20.3 BB/9, 6.8 K/9

Doesn’t it seem like Dellin Betances has been in the game forever? With all the chatter about him, Manny Banuelos, and Jesus Montero it almost feels like they have been MLB regulars for a few years now. Betances has all kinds of upside, as you can see from his K rate, his HR/9 numbers, and the fact that his fastball tops out at 95 MPH and he has a solid low-80’s curveball. Dellin’s problem is that he has trouble consistently hitting the strikezone and he walks quite a few batters, which could translate into a huge problem at the major league level where he will have to face hitters with far better plate discipline than those in Double-A. While Betances remains very high on every list of top Yankees prospects, he is coming to the point in his professional development where he’s going to have to prove whether he will sink or swim at the MLB level. Watch his progress with Scranton-Wilkes/Barre this coming season – hopefully we will see a performance similar to the line he put up in 2010. For more information on Betances, be sure to check out his Seedlings to Stars profile here.

To see our prospect countdown so far, check out:
#10 – Slade Heathcott here,
#9 – J.R. Murphy here,
#8 – Austin Romine here,
#7 – Ravel Santana here,
#6 – Dante Bichette Jr here,
#5 – Mason Williams here, and
#4 – Gary Sanchez here.

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