Yankees: Luis Severino looking even better than last year

After an exceptional season last year, Luis Severino has reclaimed his ace status on the New York Yankees and is showing why the team has bestowed this role on the youngest arm in the rotation. With more surely to come, Severino is proving to not be just a flash in a pan.

After finishing the 2017 season with a 2.98 ERA and 230 strikeouts, Severino set the bar pretty high for himself. But that’s not slowing down the Yankees young righty from improving this year. Although Severino has only thrown 13 innings in two games thus far, he has yet to disappoint. In those 13 innings, Sevy has allowed just two runs, none of which came off home runs.

This includes his five and two-thirds shutout innings and seven-strikeout performance against the Blue Jays to open up the season.

Besides statistics, Severino has seen improvements elsewhere as well. His fastball’s average velocity has increased to just above 98 mph, while his slider has dropped in speed to average around 87 mph.

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This speed differential between his fastest and slowest pitches, both of which happen to be his two most relied upon pitches, can be vital to his success. With his ability to reach 100 mph using his fastball, batter’s should beware of this devastating two pitch combo.

In addition to these speed upgrades, Severino has also seen his slider increase in both horizontal movement and vertical movement. Almost doubling in horizontal movement, his slider has only gotten better.

It gets better. These improvements to his slider have resulted in strikes over 40 percent of the time and none of his pitches result in balls in play more than 18 percent of the time.

Nonetheless, Severino still has room for improvement. Having a smaller pitch repertoire consisting of three pitches, a fastball, a change-up, and a slider, Sevy could possibly develop another pitch and/or improve his change-up; which he’s still working on early in his career.

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However, I expect another phenomenal season from Severino, leading the Yankees to the playoffs and hopefully then some. Although he is not generally mentioned amongst the elite pitchers, Sevy has proven himself against all tests; the sky is the limit for him and his evolving abilities.