We get a lot questions about Dellin Betances around here. “How do you pronounce his name?” is a popular one. As is “Where is Dellin Betances these days?” “What is he doing in Extended Spring Training?” is a popular one too.
Well, Mike’s replacements at our former MVN home have the answers in an excellent piece they wrote after attending media day at the Staten Island Yankees’ facility on New York’s neglected fifth borough. Eric Schultz writes:
Our first interview was with Dellin Betances, who was wearing #53. The 6″9′ man-child was hard to miss, even in a clubhouse full of players, many of whom were well over 6 feet. My first observation of Dellin was that he looked like he had bulked up. When he was drafted, Betances was listed anywhere from 185-215 pounds, and he looked very skinny in pictures. On the team roster that was handed out to us, he was 230 pounds, and he looked much more in proportion. Betances spoke quietly with accented English, but he seemed very confident for a 19 year-old.
We asked Dellin what he has been working on in Extended Spring Training. Dellin told us that he has focused on his delivery, and trying to repeat his motion. He was also working on improving his command of his pitches, especially on his developing changeup. He said he had “better feel” for his changeup than before, and he was throwing his knuckle-curve for strikes effectively.
Betances, one of the top arms in the game and Baseball America’s 100th best prospect in baseball, is, at 19, one of the youngest guys playing for Staten Island this year. He threw exceptionally well last year in 23 innings of Rookie ball. Everyone will be following his progress at Staten Island this year as he hopefully develops from a thrower into a pitcher. At this stage, he’s very raw.
For those of us living in the New York area, Betances’ presence on the SI Yanks’ roster means we could even catch him live and in the flesh. I know I’ll try to make a trip down to the Island to watch him this year. Finally, something worth seeing on Staten Island.