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Betances TJ Surgery Creates Questions


By Mike Silva ~ August 30th, 2009. Filed under: Yanks Minors.

Mike Ashmore gives the details about the injury to Dellin Betances who is the fourth Yankees pitching prospect to require major surgery this year. Ian Kennedy, Christian Garcia, George Kontos, and now Dellin Betances have gone down. Kontos, just like Betances, needs Tommy John surgery.

Betances was having a horrible year at Tampa with a 2-5 record and 5.48 ERA. If you remember, Baseball America had Betances as the fifth best prospect in the Yankees system, ahead of Phil Coke, Mark Melancon, and Zach McAllister.

Hearing all the injuries to young Yankees pitchers brings up two inevitable questions. First, you just never know about “pitching prospects”, that is why, when you have the opportunity, to acquire a big name (i.e. Roy Halladay) for prospects you should do it. Next, you have to wonder if this aggressive rest/innings limitation philosophy is working. The big three of Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy have all spent time on the DL in their young careers. In the case of Chamberlain, he is no better a pitcher now than at the beginning of the year.

The Yankees do a lot of things right in terms of player development, but it wouldn’t hurt for them to assess the process of handling young pitchers. Obviously, what is working is not preventing injuries or, in the case of Joba, making them better baseball players.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
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4 Responses to Betances TJ Surgery Creates Questions

  1. JD
    August 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    hughes has neve had arm trouble. either has kennedy. joba had a sore shoulder last yr and if u gave him 200+ innings this yr that would def be trouble

  2. Mike Silva
    August 30th, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    I think injuries are injuries. Hughes and Kennedy certainly were more “freakish” types of things. But the other young pitchers have fallen in line with various ailments to arm/shoulder.

    Not advocating throwing more innings, but I think too much rest might have something to do with it. How can you improve if you don’t pitch? Furthermore, doesn’t atrophy hurt your arm? Rest IMO is more important in the offseason than during the season.

  3. Phil in LA
    August 30th, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    Young pitchers go through as injury matrix from their teens to their mid-20s. The Yanks don’s seem to consider TJS a big deal, as we’ve seen them draft players who need it or have just had it. It’s too bad that Dellin will miss some time, but he was off all year. In his milb career he has only been hit when he’s had some arm trouble. Hopefully this will clear up the problem.

  4. Anonymous
    August 30th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    Would that be for the Roy Halladay who has really struggled since the end of June and has also been injured this year and is already 32? And whose stuff hasn’t been nearly the same since he’s been injured? That guy?

    Should the Yanks just trade away all of their young pitchers and have a rotation filled with a $20 + million #1, an $18 million #2, a $10-12 million #3 and get other guys on the free agent market for about $10 million each? Very cost efficient. Those older free agents will also age remarkably well. Not only will they be expensive, they’ll be on the downsides of their careers. Good idea.

    And it’s a shame, you’re right, that Joba is like Rudy Stein. He has been nothing but the worst thing ever to grace a mound. There has never been a pitcher worse than him ever in the major leagues.

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