Yankees fans, especially those who follow the minor league system, rode an emotional roller coaster this week. About two weeks ago, the Yankees announced that one of their top prospects, and one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, Joba Chamberlain, would be converted from a starting role to relief work in anticipation of helping the big league club down the stretch for an anticipated playoff run.

Monday morning, the New York Post and other outlets reported that the time for Chamberlain to arrive as the savior of the bullpen had arrived, as lefty Mike Myers had been designated for assignment. By the afternoon, fan elation had turned into puzzlement, as the Yankees promoted a reliever from their Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre team. Only it wasn’t Chamberlain, it was 34-year-old journeyman Jim Brower, who hasn’t had any consistent success in the big leagues since 2004. The wailing lasted less than a day, however, as yesterday the Yankees sent Brian Bruney (and his control problems) back to the minors, replacing him with Chamberlain. America’s day-long national nightmare was over.

While throwing the word “savior” out there might seems like hyperbole, Chamberlain might be up to the task, despite being a professional for less than a full calendar year. His story is tailor-made for a big media market like New York. He’s a native of Nebraska and also a Native American. He didn’t take up pitching until his final year of high school, and he pitched at a tiny Division II school near his home, where he had a losing record in his first year. He didn’t garner much attention until that summer, when he played American Legion ball, not only hitting .505 with 11 home runs, but compiling a 1.36 ERA on the mound, including a game that scouts in the Nebraska still talk about, a 15-inning 1–0 shutout in which Chamberlain went the first 12 innings and struck out 21 batters. Suddenly, Chamberlain had options. He decided to stay at home and play for a resurgent University of Nebraska baseball program, where he earned the victory in the program’s first-ever win at the College World Series, which takes places annually in Omaha — all but Chamberlain’s backyard.

Going into the 2006 season, Chamberlain was seen as a surefire top five pick in the draft, but his season was a disappointment, as tendonitis prevented him from pitching his best as the draft drew near. That injury, along with a past knee surgery and a physique that some would call powerful but others would simply call big (creating the too-easy moniker of “Joba The Hutt”) scared off teams in the end. The Yankees were all too happy to find him still on the board with the 41st overall pick.

Chamberlain was not disappointed to be selected by the Yankees, but he was disappointed to fall out of the first round. Negotiations took too long for Chamberlain to make his pro debut, but he signed in early September for a $1.1 million bonus. By the time Chamberlain reported to the Yankees instructional league that month, he wasn’t rusty, he was finally healthy, and was showing the ability that was so highly thought of going into the season. The Yankees decided to get his feet wet with an assignment to the Hawaiian Winter League, a circuit consisting of minor leaguers from America and Japan. There, Chamberlain dominated, striking out 46 in 37 2/3 innings while walking only three.

His highly anticipated stateside debut came in the High-A Florida State League this spring, where he fired four shutout innings at Legends Field. Five days later he went five no-hit innings. By June he was promoted to Double-A. Some pitchers work years to get to that level; Chamberlain took seven games. In his first start for Trenton, he went five shutout innings. Once again, just seven games later, with 66 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings, Chamberlain was promoted once again to Triple-A, just a step away from the big leagues. Still Chamberlain was unchallenged, as his debut with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees was the same old story — five innings, no runs, 10 strikeouts.

After a slow start, the Yankees are playing well but are battling for a playoff berth or pre-October elimination. Chamberlain was too good to keep down, but the Yankees wanted him to work on his off-speed pitches while also limiting the total innings in his first full season. The temporary solution was to move him to the bullpen, where he could not worry about pacing himself or worrying about his change-up. He’s getting to let it go with his mid-90s fastball that touches 98 mph, supplemented by a power breaking ball that often makes opposing hitters look silly. Chamberlain has taken to his new role in the pen with alacrity, facing 12 batters in three appearances, and striking out 10 of them.

The resume is there for Chamberlain to step in and succeed at the big league level. The only question is whether or not Joe Torre will let him. In July, the team called up Edwar Ramirez, who struck out all three Minnesota Twins he faced in his pro debut, pitched one more time three days later, and then all but rotted on the bench for two weeks. Torre’s record of success cannot be denied, but he is a creature of habit, a manager who decides on a system and a role for a player and then sticks with it, even to the detriment of his own team at times. The Yankees have been waiting for a reliever all year to step up and take care of those three-to-five mid-game outs that lets them hand another lead to Mariano Rivera. Joba Chamberlain might be that guy, if they just give him a fair chance.

Mr. Goldstein is a writer for Baseball Prospectus. For more state-of-the-art commentary, visit baseball prospectus.com.