• chris

    why cant this kid be given a shot in the pen this season

    • whozat

      Well, first of all, he walks a lot of guys. Second, the pen has actually been good. Third, it’d impede his development as a starter. Fourth, there are 6 or 7 guys that are more likely to be able to succeed in the MLB pen that have yet to earn a promotion.

      How would it make sense to move Betances to the pen?

  • Joltin’ Joe

    He’s too young, plus his abilities are still far too raw for the Major League level.

    Instead, we’re going to see J.B. Cox, Mark Melancon, Humberto Sanchez (perhaps as a starter) and perhaps a few others this year.

    • Guiseppe Franco

      If Sanchez does make an appearance in the Bronx this season, it will be as a reliever.

      The team has already told him to prepare himself as a reliever on June 10.

      • Guiseppe Franco

        http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080513&content_id=2690931&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

        Further down the line is right-hander Humberto Sanchez, who is coming back from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery performed in the spring of 2007. The Yankees have told Sanchez that he will be used as a reliever through the rest of this season, beginning a program that he hopes will have him in pinstripes by the end of the year.

        Already throwing his fastball at about 80 to 85 percent, Sanchez has been told to be ready to pitch in an extended Spring Training game on June 10, and then join the Gulf Coast League Yankees, working his way up the ladder.

        “The biggest thing is being pain free,” Sanchez said. “It feels strong. It feels pretty normal right now. My goal is to come back healthy and help this team.”

        • A.D.

          That doesn’t say anything about the Pen, and Nardi Contreras elluded to him being a starter.

          • whozat

            “The Yankees have told Sanchez that he will be used as a reliever through the rest of this season, beginning a program that he hopes will have him in pinstripes by the end of the year.”

            That pretty much says it right there.

            • http://www.myspace.com/j_panama Jamal G.

              That says nothing of his future role. That just says they will use him as a reliever now to put less stress on his elbow after coming back from TJS. They probably want to take it easy and get him in as many games as possible this season to see what he has post-TJS. I still want him as a starter because he does have that front-line stuff.

              • JRVJ

                Jamal,

                You’ve probably heard that old Salsa lyric about there not being “Cama pa’ tanta gente”.

                While I want as many of the Yankee kids to succeed as starters, there’s not enough rotation slots for ALL of them, so either they’ll end up in the pen (which would mean a monster pen), fail or be traded away.

                Now granted, a potential starter has more value than a potential reliever, but I’d rather hoard as many of these young arms as possible, which means pen duty for some.

                • http://www.myspace.com/j_panama Jamal G.

                  True, but if I had my wish of the arms we have in this organization now to succeed as starters it would be the following, in no particular order:

                  1. Andrew Brackman
                  2. Joba Chamberlain
                  3. Phil Hughes
                  4. Dellin Betances
                  5. Chris Garcia

                  Humberto Sanchez would definitely be #6 followed closely by Alan Horne (I really think people underrate this kid’s stuff, he really does have #1 stuff) and Jairo Heredia.

                  But you’re right, not everyone can work out but if I had my choice those are the 5 I would most want to succeed as a starter, what about you guys?

                  Kudos on the Salsa reference!

                • A.D.

                  Additionally there is only so many people that can pitch out of the pen and they already have:
                  Cox
                  Melacon
                  Robertson
                  Oheldorf
                  Alby
                  Veras

                  Who are all definitly pen guys, while Sanchez would presumably be better than Alby and Veras, his ability to start, and his numbers before getting hurt look to make him more valuable both for trade or to keep in house as a starter

  • JerseyKRS

    good for the kid, I’m sure that did wonders for his confidence. He’s no where near ready for the big league. Hopefully our young players all mature into what will be a once again youthful and PRODUCTIVE Yankee team.

    Something our team is NOT right now. :sigh:

    • A.D.

      If only any of these mentions could also hit…

  • Micky7 Old Ranger

    whozat…
    Nice to see you posting over here. If I have missed you before, sorry. A very knowledgeable bunch on this blog. 27/08.

  • yanks99

    Mike…or anyone for that matter…this is the first year I’ve really started following the minor league system and i have a couple of questions. First of all, who goes to the Staten Island team? Is it some of the guys from Charleston or is it all plays who get drafted in this year’s draft? (I don’t know exactly when the draft is and when the league starts so I’m not sure if that makes sense.) If it is guys from Charleston, any chance we will see Jesus in Staten Island) I would love to go see him. Also, what are the yankees thinking with the time line for Betances? Is it a possibility to see him in the majors by 2010?

    • http://www.mvn.com/milb-yankees Ashish Skaria

      Staten Island (or Short Season for that matter) is for college prospects signed out of the draft as once they are drafted and signed, you can’t place the players in other levels as all those levels are alreadY maxed out with prospects. In terms of minor league levels, Charleston is directly in front of Staten Island. So, you probably won’t see Jesus at Staten Island cause that would kind of be like a demotion. Betances could definitely make it to the majors in 2010. By then, he’ll be 22. I beleive the Yankees plan is to promote he and Zachary McAllister to Tampa some time this year. Then for next year, both guys start of at Double-A Trenton.

  • Casper

    Re Mike A.’s comment about Dellin’s size… I’ve been wondering about his growth this season. The profiles have him somewhere around 245 lbs (up from 215 lbs a couple of years ago). I’ve kinda figured the 245 number might be a bit generous, but now I’m buying it. You can tell just from his headshot from various web profiles, Betances has really bulked up (in a good way).

    God, if that kid pans out… Dare to dream.

  • Casper

    Oh, and can we call him the Brooklyn Bomber? Or is that hopelessly lame? It would be amazing if the Yankees were able to develop a star player from Brooklyn.

  • TurnTwo

    FYI, i was having trouble last night with the save to computer popup window trying to get onto the site, and then again this morning, but just in trying to get into the comments of this specific post. weird.

    anyway, its just great to finally see this kid pitch after spending the last 2 years following the myth that was Dellin Betances.

    I would guess with Betances developing and Brackman working his way back from TJ surgery, we could maybe dumb them the twin towers come 2011?

    • TurnTwo

      dub* not dumb…

  • Micky7 Old Ranger

    Earlier this year Marty C said that they would like to have Sanchez as a starter, but because of his injury history…they will point him to the BP, until he shows he can handle it as starting. If I remember it right, which I think I have. 27/08.

  • http://everythingbaseball.wordpress.com Aaron

    Nice catch Mike. I hadn’t been hearing too much about how he had been doing this season.

  • Kelvin

    Hmm.. come to think of it, in 2 or 3 years time, we could have another “BIG” 3, composing of Brackman, and Betances, and hmmm..who do you think could be the third one of the group?

    • Steve

      Somebody really, really tall.

      Can Manute Bol pitch?

      • Kelvin

        after some days i’ve finally remembered his name, and I do hope the yanks sign him. 6’7” 16 y.o. Michael Inoa.