The 10 Best Strikeout Relievers in Major League Baseball

Dellin Betances, New York Yankees

While some still see him as a starter, the Yankees' Dellin Betances is flourishing as a late-inning shut-down set-up man, and could soon inherit the role of closer from the man who is number nine on this list, David Robertson.

Betances has struck out 40.2% of all batters faced this year, fourth-best among MLB relievers. His rWAR of 3.3 is second-best among bullpen pitchers, with a 1.41 ERA and 1.64 FIP. And his nERD of 1.35 is tops among all of the relief pitchers in the Majors.

In fact, Betances actually has more strikeouts (125) in just 83 innings than any other active Yankees pitcher this year, including starters. Hiroki Kuroda is closest, with 120 in 174 innings. Masahiro Tanaka still leads the team with 135, but he has been out of action since July.