New York Yankees: Starting Pitching Report Card
By Paul Ashley
Luis Severino: A+
Luis Severino has been more than the Yankees could have asked for this season. After settling into the “ace” role in 2017, he is off to a 14-2 record with a 2.31 ERA through 20 starts. More importantly, the Yankees have won 18 of those 20 starts.
The Yankees “ace” has pitched into the 7th inning 9 times this season. His best start of the season came on the road against the Houston Astros on May 2nd. In that game, he pitched 9 innings allowing 0 runs while striking out 7 hitters. He also only allowed 5 hits and 1 walk. The Yankees are also 2-1 against the Red Sox when Severino is the starting pitcher.
Through 128.1 innings pitched, Severino has 144 strikeouts. Ron Guidry holds the Yankees franchise record for strikeouts in a single season with 248 in 1978. As Severino will most likely make an additional 12 starts this season, he does have a chance to break that record.
In order to break the record, Severino would need to average 8.8 strikeouts per game. He currently averages 7.2 strikeouts per game, so his strikeouts would have to increase. As Severino does have 6 starts with 9 strikeouts or more, it will be interesting to see if he can break Louisiana Lightning’s long-standing strikeout record.
Luis Severino on the 4 1/2 game deficit at the break: "We're not worried. We're going to be in the playoffs. We're going to be in the playoffs and after that we're going to figure it out."
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) July 16, 2018
Severino is obviously a very important piece of the puzzle to a deep run in October. This season, he holds a 2.73 FIP on the season with a 1.005 WHIP. He is 1st in the MLB in wins, 9th in WHIP, 10th in strikeouts, and 5th in FIP.
As Severino is one of the best starters in all of the MLB, he deserves an “A+” rating.