The Yankees Look Like They’ve Found Their “Mr. Nasty” And More

The Yankees, despite the emergence of a reliable starting staff this season, have been lacking that one guy that no team wants to face because his stuff is downright nasty. That could very well be changing.

Yankees fans got a real treat last night in watching Luis Severino pick apart, chew up, and then spit out the much heralded Boston Red Sox lineup. Pitching without flair, one 98-99 mph fastball after another, Severino never lost touch with the rubber after making a pitch, waiting only for Austin Romine to put down the sign for the next one.

Ironically, it was only a few weeks ago that I wrote a column lamenting the fact that the Yankees starting rotation lacked and needed that one guy with the filthy stuff and fearless demeanor that no team wants to face.

The Dallas Keuchel with his nasty sinker, the Corey Kluber with his devastating slider, or even the Yankees former Mr. Nasty, Roger Clemens and that high hard one coming straight at you if you crowded him a little bit.

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Luis Severino looked every bit like any of those guys last night. He was effectively wild, throwing only two-thirds of his 100 pitches for strikes, but he walked only two. He didn’t pile up the strikeouts either, managing only the major league requisite of one per inning pitched over his seven innings of work.

And more than anything, he looked like his body language suggested, and he was having fun out there challenging batters while being hardly aware of his surroundings, which happened to be smack in the middle of Yankees “Hateland”, Fenway Park.

Mystery  Man, Please Take A Bow

Someone, and from what we hear that person might be Pedro Martinez, has gotten through to Severino. Whoever it is, Brian Cashman needs to be writing a big fat bonus check to that person because this is the Severino everyone has been waiting to see.

The stuff was always there and there was never a question about that. But it was his listless, “do I really want to throw this pitch now” presence on the mound that disturbed the Yankees more than anything.

Video Courtesy of the YES Network

With last night’s effort, Severino has three effective starts in a row now. And it’s probably a safe bet that he’s never had that before, no matter where he was pitching.

We see this often with pitchers who struggle along for years before, all of a sudden, they “get it”. And their career blossoms from that point on. Nolan Ryan, for instance, toiled for the Mets and was eventually traded by them before he became the “Ryan Express”, later piling up a record seven no-hitters and pitching until he was 45 years old.

Yankees Have More Work To Do

And none of this is to say that Severino has reached the pinnacle of his pitching ability. His command of his slider is often lacking, especially to right-handed hitters. And last night, Austin Romine may have made the play of the game with a backhand catch of one that had wild pitch written all over it, preventing what was beginning to look like a big inning for the Red Sox.

And further down the road, Severino will need a third pitch, perhaps a changeup to add to his arsenal.

But for now, no one should touch him. He’s on a roll and brimming with self-confidence. He beat one of the best teams in baseball and last year’s Cy Young winner, Rick Porcello, last night. He did it handily, too by simply pounding the strike zone.

Yankees: Where’s Their “Downright Nasty” Starting Pitcher

The Yankees starting staff lacks someone like a Roger Clemens, who can intimidate and dominate a lineup in the same way as a Syndergaard.

Mr. Nasty, maybe not yet. But he could be well on his way to earning that title for the Yankees. And for as much fun as Severino is having right now, we’re enjoying watching him bloom as a pitcher as well.