Dellin Betances Set for First Major League Start
By Editorial Staff
The New York Yankees are sending top prospect Dellin Betances to the mound tonight in their regular season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. Wednesday night will mark Betances first Major League start.
Betances joined the Yankees as a call-up after rosters expanded in September. New York gave the 23-year-old his first taste of the bigs last week when Betances worked two-thirds of an inning against the Rays.
It wasn’t pretty.
Betances came on in the 8th, but was unable to finish the inning. The right-hander allowed four free passes and hit a batter while recording only two outs. Without surrendering a base hit, Betances gave up two runs, causing his ERA to skyrocket to an even 27. Betances was only able to throw seven of his 27 pitches for strikes.
Control problems have plagued Betances in the past, but it appeared he overcame these issues in 2010. Last season between High and Double-A, Betances compiled a record of 8-1 to go with his impressive 2.11 ERA.
Though his career BB/9 rate was north of four, Betances was able to post a mark of 2.3 last year while striking out 108 batters over his 85.1 innings of work.
This performance propelled Betances back into Baseball America’s preseason top 100 prospect list. While he wasn’t able to duplicate his control this season in the Minors, Betances did finish the year with a respectable 3.70 ERA over his 25 starts. Betances continued to sit down more than 10 batters per nine, but his BB/9 shot up to five.
Tonight’s start won’t impact the Yankees, but Betances is facing a Rays squad that is fighting for their playoff lives. New York will look for Betances to put forth a better outing than last week, while Tampa Bay is hoping for more of the same.
For more on the Yankees, be sure to check out Yanks Go Yard.