Saturday, September 7, 2019

SEVERINO OUTING IS HUGE



In case you didn’t notice, the Yankees got a big-time performance last night. No, definitely not in last night’s debacle at Fenway. It was in Trenton, where Luis Severino started the Thunder’s Eastern Division Series clincher as part of his rehab stint. It’s another step closer to his return, with no hiccups or warning signs. If you take Aaron Boone’s comments earlier in the day on face value, that if the outing went well, he could be brought up to the majors imminently.


Severino threw 50 pitches in 3+ innings before being pulled in the 4th after a lead off base hit. His velocity was in the mid 90s, topping out at 97 mph, according to scouts in attendance. Over those 3+ innings, he struck out 5, and walked none.  He did not get to ball 2 in any count until the third inning. He did give up 5 hits, one of them a solo homer, but was able to get out of trouble for the most part.  All in all, I would say he had an excellent night.

Photo Credit: NJ.com
With the playoffs only a few weeks away, Severino’s presence would be a huge asset. A starting rotation of Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Domingo German, and James Paxton would be awesome. Think about how much better the Yankees’ postseason posture looks when you think about Severino taking  J.A. Happ’s slot. It would be an incredible positive shift.


Obviously, It’s Aaron Boone’s job to make sure he doesn’t reinjure himself. That will likely mean strict limits on pitch counts. The good news is that if we see him start Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, he’d be facing one of the worst hitting teams in the American League. They’re last in the league in home runs and second to last in strikeouts, both of which play to Severino’s strengths and away from his weaknesses.

Whatever happens, I’m paying very close attention to next week’s games and announcements about him getting a start.








--Ike Dimitriadis
BYB Contributor
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

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