Call to the pen
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American League Cy Young: A candidate for every style

By Bill Felber

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: A Boston Red Sox fan holds up another K sign marking the number of strike outs the starting pitcher Chris Sale has thrown against the Baltimore Orioles during sixth inning action at Fenway Park in Boston on April 15, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: A Boston Red Sox fan holds up another K sign marking the number of strike outs the starting pitcher Chris Sale has thrown against the Baltimore Orioles during sixth inning action at Fenway Park in Boston on April 15, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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American League Cy Young
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 01: Luis Severino #40 of the New York Yankees in action against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 1, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 11-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Luis Severino, New York Yankees

Old-school stats: 17-6, 3.32 ERA in 28 starts, 171 innings
New-school stats: 4.4 WAR

The case for Severino: With 17 wins, Severino shares the American League lead and has a good chance to reach 20. His 199 strikeouts ranks 5th in the league. Ahead in the count, he’s nails, allowing just a .174 batting average. Don’t even think about getting to Severino prior to the fifth inning; in the first four, opponents are batting .211 with just 9 home runs. In Fielding Independent Pitching, Severino ranks fifth at 3.06, demonstrating that as long as he’s in the game, he controls it.

The case against Severino: Through July 7, Severino was 14-2; since then he’s 5-4 with losses to the Royals, Mets and Rays. Lately he’s become a “five and fly” guy, having been knocked out prior to the end of the sixth inning in 8 of his last 10 starts.  When batters have count leverage, they’re hitting .309 against Severino. In-game stamina is also an issue. From pitch 76 on, opponents are batting .323 against him. Finally, Severino’s success or lack of same correlates with his run support. When the Yanks give him two or fewer runs, the batting average against him is a subpar .279.

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