Luis Severino Must Return to Being Dominant

Luis Severino’s 2018 season has been a prime example of a mixed bag, to say the least. From March 29th to July 1st, the Yankee ace was dominant. In 18 starts throughout that timeframe, he pitched to a 1.98 ERA, held his opponents to a .195 batting average, and allowed just six home runs. In the first half, Severino appeared to have been a much of a contender for the CY Young as anyone.

Unfortunately, ever since then, Severino has been more of his 2016 self than anything. In 11 starts from July 7th to September 5th, his ERA was an abysmal 6.87. Furthermore, batters hit for an average of .323 off him over that span. His struggles hit an all time low on September 5th on the road against the Oakland Athletics. He got taken out after 2.2 innings allowing six runs, five earned, in the Yankee 8-2 loss. Long story short, Luis Severino simply hasn’t been the ace the New York Yankees could throw against the opposing team’s ace and feel confident in doing so.

Thankfully, as we move towards the end of September, Sevy has started to return to form. In his three starts since the disaster in Oakland, he has pitched to a 2.04 ERA and batters have hit .212 against him in 17.2 innings of work. He hasn’t allowed a home run and has struck out 18 batters, 204 per 162 games, in that span.

While it is a short sample size, it’s good to see Luis Severino starting to return to his dominant self. Because if the Yankees want to capture their 28th World Series title this year, that’s what they need him to be. Dominant.

The Yankees will head into October with a starting rotation containing of the following. Luis Severino, JA Happ, Masahiro Tanaka, and CC Sabathia. A very solid rotation without a doubt, but not up to the likes of the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox. One of the key reasons for that is because the Yankees no longer have a top tier ace. The Astros have that in Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. The Red Sox have that in Chris Sale. Back in June, the Yankees thought they had that guy in Luis Severino. Ever since then, outside of the last three games, that clearly hasn’t been the case, as with Severino starting the final game of the regular season Sunday, it’s safe to say he won’t be starting the Wild Card game. This shows that the Yankees don’t have enough faith in Severino right now.

This is why Sunday’s regular season finale against the Boston Red Sox is a huge game for Sevy. He will have a big chance to capitalize on his recent turnaround. Assuming the Yankees win one game of the series before then, they will be at 99 wins. Therefore, Sevy can deliver the Yankees their 100th win of the regular season, their first 100 win season since 2009 when they won the World Series.

Regardless, Luis Severino will have an opportunity to send a message that he is back to being his dominant self. Because that’s the Luis Severino the Yankees need in order to make a run at the 2018 World Series championship.