Dellin Betances began the 2010 season as a pitching prospect with enormous potential, but who left many observers wondering if he’d be able to put it all together.
By the end of the season, he’d proven that he could.
The right-hander from Brooklyn dominated the competition all season long, and was an easy choice as the Yankees’ top pitching prospect for the 2010 season because of it. In stints with High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton, Betances went a combined 8-1 with a 2.11 ERA, striking out 108 and walking 22 in 85.1 innings.
With a fastball consistently registering in the mid-90s, complemented by an impressive curve, Betances showed flashed of being able to do many of the things the Yankees dreamed he could when they paid him a $1 million signing bonus as an eighth-round pick in 2006.
The biggest thing for Betances, after an injury-plagued 2009 season, was to stay healthy. He missed the first month of the season getting over elbow troubles that cut his 2009 short, but once he got back on the mound this year, he didn’t have to take another break.
But even after his stellar 2010 season, there is no clear answer about Betances’ future in New York. Assuming Andy Pettitte returns for another title run in 2011, the Yankees already have four starting pitchers – Pettitte, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes. If they also sign Cliff Lee, as they are favored to do, that means that the Yankees will have four starting pitchers locked up through 2013, with Pettitte manning the fifth spot for as long as he wants to be around.
That leaves just one opening for Betances and the several other talented arms (right-handers Andrew Brackman, David Phelps, Adam Warren and Hector Noesi, and left-handers Manny Banuelos and Jeremy Bleich) the Yankees have in their system. That’s why Betances may end up having the most value to the Bombers as a trade chip. For instance, if Lee does opt to remain with the Rangers, or to sign somewhere else, the Yankees could very easily use Betances as a piece in a trade for an established starter – Kansas City’s Zack Greinke, for example.
But assuming that doesn’t happen then, Betances will be slated to pitch for Double-A Trenton again next year, with a midseason promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre a possibility if he performs anything like he did this year.
tbontemps@nypost.com
