MLB

Betances is Yankees’ next big thing

TAMPA — As you leave the Yankees minor league clubhouse, there are two words posted in bold blue letters on the door.

“Assume nothing.”

Words to live by if you are a Yankees minor leaguer.

Each day Dellin Betances passes through that door, he is focused on his dream of pitching for the Yankees. The dream is getting closer by the minute for the big right-hander, who grew up in a tiny apartment in Manhattan.

Much has been written about what the Yankees did not acquire this winter, starting with Cliff Lee. It has been overlooked what the Yankees do have going for them on the mound — young, powerful hurlers poised to make the jump to The Bronx.

“They really have a lot of great young arms,” one National League scout told The Post. “They just have to give those kids a chance.”

The 6-foot-8, 270-pound Betances may be the most intriguing.

Betances is in full pursuit of his dream, arriving here several weeks ago to begin workouts to give himself the best chance to impress manager Joe Girardi when spring training opens in two weeks. He flew back to New York last weekend to be honored by the New York Pro Scouts as their “Star of the Future.”

“I just want to work hard and try to pitch to my ability,” the soft-spoken right-hander said. “To be able to go to my first big league spring training, growing up a Yankee fan and now you are with these guys, it’s kind of a humbling experience.”

Betances will turn 23 in March. He finished at Double-A Trenton in 2010. At some point this season, he could be in The Bronx.

“I’m just excited wherever I go to start the year and then finish strong,” Betances said.

The Yankees are excited, too. GM Brian Cashman has been pushing for Betances since he first saw him at a workout at Yankee Stadium in 2006 when scout Cesar Presbott brought him to The Bronx.

“I said at the time we are not going to let this guy slip through our fingers,” Cashman said. “He still has more steps to take up the ladder, but he’s getting closer to making his dreams come true.”

“Dellin is a great kid,” said Yankees vice president of amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer, who drafted Betances in the eighth round in 2006. “The whole thing for Dellin is to continue to stay healthy and continue to command all his pitches. His stuff is already major league stuff. He can be a guy who pitches at the top of the rotation and has a lot of success, the kind of guy who pitches in the postseason with that kind of power stuff.”

Betances will be with the Yankees in spring training to soak up the big league atmosphere and probably will wind up with a locker near CC Sabathia. The plan is to let him see what it’s like to be a Yankee then move him back to the minor league side after a short while. He most likely will start the season in Double-A. He will be on an innings limit, probably around 130.

Right now Ivan Nova is the fifth starter, and the Yankees are looking for a fourth starter. That would be Andy Pettitte if he returns, or another veteran. But nothing is set in stone. Perhaps Betances will impress Girardi to such a degree in spring training that he gets in the mix.

How good can Betances be? Presbott, the scout who signed him, said Betances could be “one of the top pitchers in the major leagues, no question.” Asked what current major leaguer Betances reminds him of, Presbott answered, “Ubaldo Jimenez.”

That’s some Rocky Mountain high praise, but from the moment the Yankees drafted Betances and signed him to a $1 million bonus (a record for an eighth-round pick), big things have been expected.

Tommy John surgery (the ligament was not completely torn) in August 2009 slowed Betances’ development, but he came back strong last year to start 17 games. He was 8-1 at Single-A Tampa and was promoted to Double-A Trenton for three starts. Over 851⁄3 innings he struck out 108 batters and walked 22.

“One thing with the Tommy John surgery is that it allowed me to work on a day-to-day basis on my delivery,” Betances said. “I feel like that has changed me as a pitcher. Just mentally, I feel I’ve gotten a lot stronger.”

When Betances was introduced at the scouts’ dinner, his weight was noted as 240 pounds. He bent over the microphone, smiled and said, “I’m actually 270. I’m a lot bigger and stronger than I used to be.”

Betances then gave an impressive speech, making sure to thank his family and coaches such as Mel Zitter from Youth Service League. Zitter remembered how, when Betances was 14, he would enter the dugout of the 17-and-under YSL team to watch their games.

“He was so focused,” Zitter recalled. “He’d quietly sit in the corner and listen and learn, always hungry to learn. I love the kid.”

Betances was 10 years old when his family moved from Washington Heights to the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He got his work ethic from his parents. His dad is a livery driver. Each morning, Betances would get up early to take the subway over to Brooklyn to Grand Street Campus High School.

“He’s always working,” Presbott said of Betances, who had a full ride to Vanderbilt if he did not sign with the Yankees. “You call him 9 o’clock at night and he’s in the gym.”

Betances is making this journey with his family — two older brothers, who have helped guide his career, a younger sister and his parents. The moment he signed with the Yankees, the entire family broke down in tears. The first thing he did with his money was buy his parents a home in New Jersey.

Betances’ fastball is mid- to upper-90s. He also features a slider, changeup and spike curve. The promotion of the right-handed Nova last season has been a plus for all the young pitchers. It showed there is room at the top.

“Definitely seeing those guys that I’ve played with, making a run and helping the team out, it is something I look forward to,” Betances said. “My goal is to make it to the major leagues at some point this year.

“As a kid you always dream about something like this, being there and just helping your team win championships,” Betances added. “I just don’t want to be there one year or two years, I want to be there for a good amount of time, have a good career. Just watching Derek Jeter, five championship rings, it’s amazing. Robinson Cano and I have the same background.”

So, what advice does Cano offer?

“There’s a lot of pressure, but the only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself,” Betances said. “In the end, I know it’s up to me to do my part, go out there and throw strikes. You never know what’s going to happen. You just have to keep working hard.”

And, most of all, because this is the Yankees: “Assume nothing.”

Young guns aiming for stardom

With spring training just around the corner, here are eight Yankees pitching prospects, in alphabetical order.

Manuel Banuelos, 19

Little lefty with power arm reminds some of Teddy Higuera. Not bad considering Higuera averaged 17 wins over first four seasons.

Dellin Betances, 22

Big things are expected from big right-hander, who has top-of-the-rotation stuff.

Andrew Brackman, 25

First-round pick in 2007 (30th overall). A big body — 6-foot-10, 240 pounds — with huge upside, started to peak last year midway through the season by harnessing control.

D.J. Mitchell, 23

Impressive 13-4 mark last season, moving through Double- and Triple-A for lanky righty.

Hector Noesi, 24

Righty blew through three leagues last season — Single-, Double- and Triple-A — as he compiled 14-7 mark with 3.20 ERA over 1601⁄3 innings.

Ivan Nova, 24

Appeared in 10 games with Yankees in 2010. Showed signs of being special, then regressed to being typical rookie.

David Phelps, 24

A 14th-rounder in 2008, the right-hander came on strong last season. He has a deceptive delivery. Fastball reads 90-92

but batters do not get good swings on those pitches.

Adam Warren, 23

Each year the right-hander’s velocity has jumped — now up to 95-96 at times.

Tightness in breaking ball has gotten better, too. Throws strikes.

kevin.kernan@nypost.com