THERE’S A NEW SEVY IN TOWN!
Luis about-faces into ace
DETROIT — Luis Severino may not win the AL Cy Young Award. He may not win the AL Comeback Player of the Year either. But Severino’s transformation from 2016 to 2017 is remarkable nonetheless.
The 23-year-old righty improved to 6-1 with a 2.16 ERA post-All-Star break after allowing just one run in 6.2 innings during the Yankees’ 10-2 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
“It’s hard to ask for more from the young man,” Joe Girardi said. “I thought he did a really good job.”
Exactly a year ago Thursday, Severino gave up four runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings with Triple-A Scranton. He’s come a long way since his struggles as a starter (0-8, 8.50 ERA), demotion to the minors and stint in the bullpen.
“Last year, I wasn’t commanding any of my pitches,” Severino said. “I wasn’t throwing my changeup. This year, I’m trying not to overthrow and locate my fastball and my breaking stuff.”
During the offseason, Severino and Pedro Martinez worked on mechanics. During spring training, Severino worked on staying patient and keeping the ball down. He narrowly won the No. 4 starter job out of camp, but has quickly emerged as the ace of the pitching staff, going toe-to-toe with the best of the best.
Severino has been able to keep his velocity up while featuring a muchimproved slider and changeup.
“I feel good. My arm feels good, and my body feels good,” Severino said. Overall, Severino is 11-5 with a 3.10 ERA in 156.2 innings. He has allowed one earned run or fewer in 14 of his 25 outings. On Wednesday night, Severino got help from two other emerging Yankee youngsters, Gary Sanchez (homer, three RBI) and Aaron Judge (419-foot RBI double). “We feel pretty good with where he’s at,” Girardi said before the game of Severino, who threw 151 innings combined between the majors and minors last season. “If there’s a chance and we have a big lead and the bullpen is rested, we’ll take him out.” Still, Severino will have the improbable task of beating both Chris Sale (14-5, 2.62 ERA) and Corey Kluber (124, 2.65) to capture the Cy Young. And as far as Comeback Player of the Year is concerned, Michael Brantley, Mike Moustakas and Justin Smoak all make pretty strong cases themselves. Whether you even want to consider a second-year pro like Severino for the award is its own debate. Regardless, the Yankees have stuck with Severino as a starter and it’s paid off in a big way so far. With Masahiro Tanaka inconsistent and Michael Pineda out for the year, they needed someone to step up – and Severino has done just that. He’s probably their leading candidate to pitch in the AL Wild Card Game. Not bad for a guy who was stuck in Scranton a year ago. GETTY