New York Yankees: What’s the deal with Dellin Betances?

A few years ago, New York Yankees fans rarely brought up Dellin Betances in conversations because he shut down opponents with ease. But as he did during the past two years, he’s struggled early on this season.

Dellin Betances used to be a knight in shining armor, a phenom and a terrorizing figure on the mound. Now he’s his own worst enemy, and he might be a problem for the New York Yankees.

The 30-year-old fireballer didn’t enjoy his first series of the season, allowing three runs in three innings of work while registering his first loss of the year. However, he collected four strikeouts, which signifies his stuff is still above-average.

Betances’ poor start to the year is a continuance of his performance from the past few seasons. The team’s primary setup guy struggled in 2016 and 2017 after piecing together tremendous campaigns in 2014 and 2015.

He had problems with two different aspects each of the past two seasons. Two years ago, hitters compiled more hits against him, and he sported atrocious numbers on the road. Last season, the right-hander racked up a career-high 6.6 walks per nine innings.

Now a few new issues reared their ugly heads while in Toronto – the long ball and stolen bases. Betances already surrendered two homers in 2018. He allowed just three in all of last season. Toronto also swiped four bags against him in one inning.

Ultimately, the Yankees reliever’s issues revolve around his heater. When he cannot locate it, he puts himself in trouble. Opposing hitters boasted a .341 average against it in 2016 with 11 extra-base hits. He relinquished 26 walks in 106 plate appearances with it last year – nearly 25 percent.

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Nevertheless, Betances still accumulates an impressive amount of strikeouts. He posted stronger numbers in that category across the previous two seasons compared to 2014 and 2015.

Despite his swing-and-miss stuff, the four-time All-Star has to become more consistent. He needs to make some adjustments and return to his former form.

New York’s fan base began losing hope in the once-fan favorite last season. If he continues to struggle, he may be more of a liability for manager Aaron Boone, rather than an asset.

Of course, this small sample cannot represent nor predict his performance this season.

The bullpen as a whole has been a concern so far

For the first time since 2015, Yankees relievers allowed at least one earned-run in each of the first four regular-season games.

The bullpen unit allowed 11 earned runs in the opening series, while starting pitchers yielded just four across 20 2/3 innings. The trend continued Tuesday, as Johnathan Holder gave up three runs in a third of an inning.

New York still has a winning record, but this might be alarming, mainly because the Yankees entered the season with arguably the best pen in the MLB. The regime’s makeup even urged MLB analyst Mike Petriello to proclaim why it can make history this year.

The Yankees fashioned a whole bullpen starting last year. New York’s relievers ranked third in ERA in 2017. The last time they ranked within the top 10 prior to that, was 2011.

Of the thirteen pitchers that have thrown this year, the six highest ERAs are attributed to relievers. Maybe the biggest concern is that four of the pitchers are Boone’s go-to late-inning guys – Aroldis Chapman, Betances, Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson.

Next: Injuries hurt, but New York is still winning

The Yankees have plenty of time to improve. It’s early on, meaning every pitcher is still getting their rhythm in shape.

Nevertheless, the bullpen must perform well for the club to achieve its high expectations.