Dellin Betances, the myth, the legend - Talksox

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 11:47 AM

Kid was a first round talent who commited to Vandy, standing at 6'7" and 215lbs. He told all MLB teams that the only team he would sign with was the yankees, and that he'd go to school otherwise. The yankees drafted him in the 8th round and gave him a 1mil signing bonus, well over slot. He came out as a 2 pitch pitcher, throwing a 88-90mph fastball and a loopy curve with pisspoor mechanics. Over the span of a few minor league months, Nardi Contreras fixed his mechanics to lower his BB rate and maximize his fastball. His fastball went from sitting in the high 80s to sitting around 93 with it going as high as 98 in 30+ short season innings. He also turned his curve from plus potential to second best in the entire minor league organization (only behind Hughes) and learned a changeup that quickly became a plus pitch (and one of the top 5 changeup in the organization). He was invited to ST to get a feel for what the majors is like before eventually being ticketed for A ball in Charleston. But that may change, he may be headed a bit higher.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...p-417572c.html

The kid appears to have grown 3 inches and added 15 pounds of muscle to his frame. He now stands at 6'10" and 230lbs. He worked out incessantly this past offseason at a speed camp where his mechanics were further honed and he now throws 96 on average, at 19, from a 6'10" frame. Thing is, the kid may still be growing. Sounds like a freak of nature and should be fun to see in ST before he will get sent down.

Manny Goes Boom · 02-08-2007, 01:12 PM

FUCK! He grew three inches AFTER high school? Wow.

So wait, if you say he's first round talent, but got selected in the 8th round, why'd he slip?

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 01:24 PM

I had heard he stated he would only sign with the yankees. But I just asked one of the scout guys and they said that is not the case, although he did let it be known that he wanted to go to NY, he never mandated it. His demands were in the 7 figures and most teams knew it. He had a commit to Vandy as well and said that he wouldnt sign for anything less than a mil. At the time he was topping out in the mid 90s but he was so damn inconsistent that he had days where his FB wasnt above 88. His curve was a plus pitch but his mechanics were so damn sloppy that he couldnt locate it. He was a project to many teams, so the yankees used their might to sign him.

Turns out that he is a workaholic and took extremely well to their suggestions. His mechanics were fixed and he was consistently in the low 90s, hitting as high as 98 and his curve blossomed and he then learned the change. Now with added height and the all important 15-20 pounds of weight, he is something to behold.

BTW, baseball prospectus is another good site for minor leaguers. They have a "best case scenario" part where most of the solid prospects are #1-#2 in projection. Betances' BCS was absolute monster.

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 01:27 PM

btw, I was wrong with his age. He turns 19 in March.

Manny Goes Boom · 02-08-2007, 01:30 PM

I see. He wanted the money.

Well I read the article, and it sounds like the kids only problem is a consistent windup, which it said he's working on. He should be interesting to see.

HeadOfSoxNation · 02-08-2007, 01:34 PM

I googled looking for pictures of him...but they're all him by himself. I want to see him next to someone else for a means of comparison.

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadOfSoxNation

I googled looking for pictures of him...but they're all him by himself. I want to see him next to someone else for a means of comparison.

me too. I talked with one of the scout guys who said that he was listed last yr at 6'8 or 6'9 but many people didnt believe that he was that tall, most thought he was 6'7. But when asking the scout guys about it, they did say that he has since grown and very well could be at the height the article claims him to be.

As for his mechanics, he is light yrs ahead of the typical tall man syndrome guys were at his age. Randy couldnt find control until he was in his late 20s. Daniel Cabrera still cannot find his control. Betances has found very good control thus far. His problem will be repeating the delivery over a full season. When you learn new mechanics, it isnt just a repeat and see how it does thing, you need to incorporate it into your very being so you forget your old ways. Lots of kids fall into that trap, learning something well then reverting after the winter off. Word is that he has maintained the mechanics as he has been constantly working this offseason rather than sitting on his ass or just working out like a lot of other prospects over the winter.

As for his handling, the yankees will be very careful of him. They typically come up with some sort of minor "injury" at about 90-100IP in their first yr. Hughes had a "sore shoulder" but when you ask him about it, he says that he was fine, just typical shoulder tiredness when he was shut down with "shoulder tendonitis". The Yankees like slow progression.

90-100IP- first full season
140-150IP- second full yr
180-190IP- third full yr
unlimited but cautious after that.

Hughes is at the third step of the regimen. Betances will likely only see A/A+ work this yr with a max of 100IP.

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 02:07 PM

what I find interesting is how much the yankees improved their minor leagues in one calendar yr.

Trades-
Sanchez- power pitcher with ace potential and huge frame- Would be a top 5 prospect
Whelan- power reliever with closer potential and big time arm- would be a top 10 prospect
Ohlendorf- sinker innings eater with solid repertoire- would be a top 15 prospect
Gonzalez- defensive SS finally showing he has offensive potential- would be top 15-20 prospect
Jackson- Power armed sinker pitcher with big frame- would be top 20 prospect
Claggett- power armed reliever with closer potential- #13 in tigers org, would be top 20-30 in yankees org

Then onto the actual list (pretrades)-

Betances #3 - 8th round
Montero #4 - top INTL signing
Kennedy #6 - 1st round
Chamberlain #11 - supp 1st round
Melancon #13 - 9th round
McCallister #18 - 3rd round

then you also have Kontos, Norton, Hilligoss, and McCutchen making the top 50 later on. They had a very effective yr fixing a broken farm.

**yeszir** · 02-08-2007, 02:45 PM

Wait, so he committed to Vandy and then signed with the Yankees. FUCK him.

We would have an insane rotation if this guy is as good as you say he is.

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 02:52 PM

Yeah, he did. He became one hell of a pitcher under yankee instruction, though. Chances are, if he is as hard a worker as the scouts say he is, then he'd be just as good through college instruction. Think about it, 6'10" at 18 and still growing with control of a high 90s fastball, a plus plus curve and plus change. He is going to look a whole lot better than big ugly did in pinstripes, I'll tell you.

He would dominate college like nobody else since Prior did. Here is his small sample short season #s.

7GS 0-1 W/L 23.1IP 14H 3ER 27K 7BB 1.16ERA 0.90WHIP

that is against the best of the 06 college class. Nasty shit. And this was with less velocity and less height/weight than he has now.

TheKilo · 02-08-2007, 04:17 PM

*Paints walls with brain*

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 04:20 PM

hahahahaha

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheKilo

*Paints walls with brain*

is that more because you are worried about big bad Betances and our killer farm, or because you are sick of my incessant badgering!

example1 · 02-08-2007, 05:21 PM

Wake me up in 4 years when he matters.

Actually, he looks like he has the frame and the franchise to find success in the league.

jacksonianmarch · 02-08-2007, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by example1

Wake me up in 4 years when he matters.

Actually, he looks like he has the frame and the franchise to find success in the league.

That is the point. I dont typically get too excited about kids straight out of HS. College kids, so long as they are more polished are okay to get a bit excited about, but they have to hit AA before I start pencilling them into future plans. But when you are talking about an 18 yr old kid who is that big, has three plus pitches, good control and power to boot, you cannot help but think about the possibilities.

BTW, ETA right now is mid 2009.

Ya know, I am excited about Chamberlain, optimistic about McCallister, nervous about Kennedy, but Betances ceiling is something I am real excited about. He trumps em all from that draft.