Dellin Betances and Tommy Kahnle
Betances appeared in four straight All-Star games. A statistic like that can’t typically be paired with a negative opinion in regards to just about anyone.
Yet there is an argument that the right-handed hurler took a step backwards in 2017 for the Yankees.
The right-hander allowed a career-high 44 walks in just 59 2/3 innings. His next-highest average prior to this year was in 2015, when he divvied out 40 walks in 84 innings. That’s a big difference.
Nevertheless, his punch-out rate was also magnificent at 15.09 strikeouts per nine innings. That ranked second in the MLB for pitchers with more than 40 innings pitched. He compiled 100 whiffs for the fourth-straight season.
Betances was the team’s closer while Chapman took a tour of Chicago. But even with the left-hander’s down season, Betances should remain one of the team’s main setup guys.
Before being dealt to the Yanks, Kahnle was lights out for the White Sox, posting a sub-1.00 WHIP and striking out 15 batters per nine innings. Hence, New York’s general manager Brian Cashman sought the reliever at the trade deadline, along with Robertson and slugging third baseman Todd Frazier.
Kahnle wasn’t as dominant once he was shipped to the Bronx, but he was still reliable for former manager Joe Girardi. He allowed just eight runs in 26 2/3 innings, even though he allowed more hits and walks than his career averages.
He’s become a primetime punch out pitcher as of this past season. He ranked fourth in strikeouts per nine innings in the league, just below Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel and Corey Knebel.
And against right-handed hitters, he’s one of the best in the pen for the Yankees. Hitters on that side of the plate hit .171 against him with a sparse .525 OPS. He and Betances will continue to hold down the middle innings, setting up the team’s ninth-inning guys for the save.