Yankees Dellin Betances among finalists for American League Rookie of the Year Award

After an impressive breakout season, Dellin Betances has been declared one of three finalists for the 2014 American League Rookie of the Year Award. Along with the Yankees setup man, Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Los Angeles Angels starter Matt Shoemaker round out the finalists.

While Betances had a truly impressive season out of the bullpen with a 1.40 ERA, 1.64 FIP, and truly dominant 13.50 K/9 over 90 innings, Jose Abreu was even more impressive as an everyday player as he hit his way to a .317/.383/.581, 36-home run season. Dellin's 3.2 WAR made him more valuable than Shoemaker at 2.1, but both were completely eclipsed by Abreu's 5.3.

The Yankees haven't had a Rookie of the Year since Derek Jeter in 1996, but that doesn't mean they haven't gotten good performances from their new guys since then. Orlando Hernandez received attention in 1998, Alfonso Soriano got votes in 2001, Hideki Matsui was robbed in 2003, and Robinson Cano came close in 2005. As recently as 2011, Ivan Nova impressed and received some RoY attention. Even if Dellin Betances doesn't come away with any awards for his spectacular season, it still puts him in some very good company. It doesn't even take away from how truly amazing it was seeing him dominate day after day over the span of an entire season. Rookie of the Year or not, expect big things to come from Betances in 2015.