Photo by Ed Delany, MMO
Before spring training got shut down in March, Dellin Betances was still fighting to reach the high 90s pitch he had before his injury. According to Tim Healy of Newsday, adding an extra four months to finish rehabbing his Achilles tendon injury, Betances really worked on finding his fastball again, the pitcher describing the season hiatus as a “blessing in disguise.”
Betances went on to tell Healy that more recently during the break, he started pitching to Yankees Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks as well as former Mets Todd Fraizer and Joe Panik which added even more confidence in his pitching for the upcoming season.
Now feeling better than before, he faced Mets teammates Jed Lowrie, Melky Cabrera, Eduardo Nunez, and Matt Adams during live batting practice on Sunday.
The pitcher explained that he wasn’t sure where his fastball velocity was but it was much better than in the spring where his max speed was in the low 90s.
This past weekend he gave up only one hit in seven at-bats during a simulated game, which was a single from Cabrera.
Preparing for the upcoming season which is planned to start on July 23, with the Mets’ first game being on the 24, Betances said he’s planning to get in an extra six or seven simulated/exhibition game in beforehand.
