Dellin Betances posted another strong effort Monday as he aims to increase his innings following a stint on the disabled list.

The 23-year-old allowed just one hit over five innings, striking out seven, for his second win in four starts as Double-A Trenton beat Reading, 2-0, at Trenton Waterfront Park.

The Yankees' top right-handed prospect missed time in April after developing a blister on his right hand, but since returning from the DL on April 29, the New York City native has held batters to one earned run over 13 1/3 innings.

Betances overcame some early control issues in the first inning, working his way around two walks thanks to consecutive strikeouts of Cody Overbeck and Carlos Rivero, before breezing through the next two frames.

Reading finally got a hit in the fourth when Overbeck hit a one-out single to left ield, only to be thrown out while attempting to steal moments later. Betances walked the next two batters, Rivero and Derrick Mitchell, but got Michael Spidale to line out to second to end the inning. He worked a 1-2-3 fifth, popping up Freddy Galvis to end his day.

The 6-foot-8 right-hander made a big impression on the Yankees this spring alongside his current rotation mate, Manny Banuelos, when both competed for attention at Spring Training. The Bombers' eighth-round pick in 2006 was born in Manhattan and grew up in Brooklyn -- he attended David Wells' perfect game as a Yankees fan in 1998 -- before signing with his favorite childhood team in '06.

Betances, considered to be the Yankees' third-best prospect behind Banuelos and Triple-A catcher Jesus Montero, went 8-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 17 outings between Class A Advanced Tampa and Trenton last year, striking out 108 in 85 1/3 frames.

Austin Krum had a sacrifice fly in the third and Melky Mesa followed with an RBI single in the fourth for Trenton.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

By Danny Wild / MLB.com
05/09/2011 9:40 PM ET

Former Knight third baseman Keith Herring and the #1 ranked Norman Thomas Tigers (21-0) are set to take on the perennial powerhouse Monroe Eagles (19-2) tonight at Yankee Stadium at 7pm. Keith Herring has been a varsity starter for three years and put together a solid senior year at Norman Thomas HS hitting .395 while driving in 13 runs in 15 regular season games for the Tigers. During the PSAL playoffs Keith has continued his solid play hitting a robust .429 and driving in the winning run in a semi final game vs. JFK HS.

Keith was also a key member of the 2006 OLS Knights 16u team that won 3 titles across NYC. During that year Herring batted .440 and drove in 44 runs for the Knights over a 41 game schedule vs. some of the best talent in NYC.

Good luck Keith, bring home the title!!

CHECK OUT THE LINKS BELOW!

Five boro sports title game preview

ESPN article on Keith and NTHS.

LIVE BLOG: PSAL Class A & B city championships

By MARK HYMAN
Published: February 28, 2009 NEW YORK TIMES

Gary Sementelli was bracing for a fight. His daughter Marti had been a baseball player before she was a kindergartner, tossing plastic balls and swinging a tiny wood bat from the time she was 3. She had been a solid player at every youth level, and sometimes a star. In 2007, Nike even featured her in a television commercial in which she wore a baseball cap backward and mused about playing for the Boston Red Sox.

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5. Dellin Betances, rhp Born: March 23, 1988 • B-T: R-R • Ht: 6-8 • Wt: 245

Drafted: HS—New York, 2006 (8th round). Signed by: Cesar Presbott/Brian Barber

Background: A $1 million bonus, a record for the eighth round, prompted Betances to spurn Vanderbilt and sign out of high school. He logged just 25 innings in 2007 because he was raw and came down with forearm tightness, but in 2008 he led South Atlantic League starters by averaging 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Strengths: Betances has two plus pitches when he's at his best. His four-seam fastball sits at 94 mph and touches 97, and he uses his height to throw it on a steep downhill plane. His curveball can be a well above-average hammer. He has improved markedly at quickening his feet, holding runners and fielding his position.

Weaknesses: Lacking Andrew Brackman's athleticism, Betances loses balance in his delivery and tends to fly open, costing him command and leaving him injury-prone. He missed much of June with a tired shoulder. The Yankees want to smooth out his mechanics before introducing a two-seam sinker to his repertoire, and his changeup remains in its nascent stages. He needs to keep improving his fielding and ability to hold runners.

The Future: Though he has yet to prove he can stay healthy, Betances has front-of-the-rotation potential. New York would like him to reach 150-160 innings in high Class A in 2009, which would put him on course to pitch in his hometown at some point in 2011.

Janine Jimenez leads the Knights to a 5-3 victory over the Mets in the last regular season game of 2007 for the Knights. The knights played short handed yet again with only 8 players showing up to the game but they managed to pull it together behind Janine's great performance on the mound. Janine pitched 4 innings and scattered 4 hits while striking out 6. She had a nice curveball working and kept the hitters off balance all day. Janine also contributed with the bat getting and RBI single in the first inning and stealing 3 bases on the day.

NEWS & NOTES: Betances' last two starts, in which he recorded 21 strikeouts, were encouraging for the Yankees, who are pleased to see him throw as many innings (104 1/3) as he has this season. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound native of Brooklyn spent some time on the disabled list but has been healthy for the most part. His last two appearances have come against Delmarva, one of the league's top hitting teams, and Lakewood, which has been sizzling of late. Betances' command also is improving with a 28-to-6 strikeout-to-walks ratio in his last three starts.

Betances season stats


Jed Weisberger is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.