Luis Severino Stats & Scouting Report

IP	182
ERA	3.91
WHIP	1.24
BB/9	2.97
SO/9	7.96

Full name Luis Severino
Born 02/20/1994 in Sabana De La Mar, Dominican Republic
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 218 / Bats: R / Throws: R
Debut 08/05/2015

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Signed out of the Dominican Republic as a 17-year-old, Severino commanded a $225,000 signing bonus and spent a fairly anonymous debut season in the Dominican Summer League. He surrendered just 46 hits and 17 walks in 64 innings that year, and worked to a 0.98 WHIP. The strong performance continued in 2013, when he dazzled in six appearances in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League with nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings. The performance prompted the Yankees to jump him over short-season ball and instead send him to low Class A Charleston to close the year. Severino got hit a little harder with the RiverDogs, but positioned himself for a breakout 2014 season that arrived, as he finished in Double-A. He further enhanced his star this summer with an inning in the Futures Game that featured a strikeout of Joey Gallo, one of the minors' premier power brokers. Only a strained oblique muscle that sidelined him for three weeks slowed his progress. Severino's build, fastball-changeup combo, Dominican heritage and dominance have earned him comparisons to Pedro Martinez. Short but not skinny, Severino utilizes a drop-and-drive delivery to bring his 94-97 fastball, which has above-average life. He touched 98 and 99 plenty of times throughout the course of the season as well. He couples the fastball with a changeup that features plenty of late fade. He's confident enough to double and triple up on the pitch at times and use it to get strikeouts against both lefthanders and righthanders. His third pitch is a mid-80s slider thrown with power, which still takes a back seat to his fastball and changeup but projects as solidaverage when he's finished developing. While his size and delivery limit the amount of downward plane he can impart to his pitches, he pitches to all four quadrants of the strike zone, helping him keep the ball in the ballpark. He surrendered just three home runs on the season--one after May 25, and none at either of his stops in high Class A or Double-A. Severino presents an air of confidence in both himself and his repertoire at all times, and his demeanor helps keep him from getting flustered when breaks don't go his way behind him. Severino clearly is on the fast track to New York. He's likely to start 2015 at Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre with a shot at moving into the mix of the big league staff by the end of the season if everything goes as planned.
Severino, who didn't sign until he was 17, received a $225,000 bonus and pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2012. The Yankees put him on the fast track in 2013, promoting him to low Class A Charleston after he shined in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Equipped with a loose arm, Severino has raw stuff that is as good as any Yankees farmhand, and he has shown the ability to throw strikes with three pitches. His fastball sits between 93-95 mph and touches the upper 90s often. He has shown a tendency to fall in love with radar-gun readings and overthrow, and he's better working down in the zone and inducing groundballs. While Severino's slider was his top secondary pitch before he signed, he has developed a solid changeup since signing, and it's presently the better of the two. His slider still flashes plus but remains inconsistent. Severino provided a bright spot in a bleak season for Yankees pitching prospects. His three-pitch mix and strike-throwing ability allow him to profile as a starter. After spending his final four starts with the RiverDogs, he's slated to return there to start 2014.

Minor League Top Prospects

Severino arrived at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at the end of May and didn't need long to become the best pitcher in the IL. He yielded two or fewer runs in all but one start and closed out his tenure with 10 strikeouts and one hit over six innings against Lehigh Valley. While opposing managers lauded Severino's stuff--a 92-97 mph fastball that typically sits at 95 and is complemented by a solid low-80s changeup and solid-average slider--many were equally impressed with his command, composure and athleticism on the mound. Severino can pitch to spots by locating his fastball to either side of the plate and at the top and bottom of the strike zone, while keeping hitters off-balance with a fading changeup. He's not afraid to pitch to contact, yet did not yield a home run with the RailRiders.
Picking the better prospect between Hagerstown's Reynaldo Lopez and Severino is all in the eye of the evaluator. Both are 6-foot Dominican righthanders with excellent stuff. In Severino's case, he throws a 95-97 mph fastball that he locates to both sides of the plate with excellent life. His changeup is not always consistent, but it was average at least most of the time. His slider varied between well below-average to average depending on the outing. As an added bonus, Severino frequently records times to the plate of 1.1 seconds, making him nearly impossible to run on. He gave up four stolen bases all year.
The Yankees signed shortstop Abiatal Avelino and Severino out of the Dominican Republic at the same time at the end of 2011, paying Severino a $225,000 bonus two months before his 18th birthday. After pitching well in the DSL last year with a 1.68 ERA in 14 starts, Severino pitched in just six GCL games before the Yankees bumped him to low Class A Charleston at the end of July to make four more starts. When Severino signed, he had good arm speed on a fastball that touched 93 mph. Now he sits in the low- to mid-90s and has reached 98. He?s an athletic pitcher with an easy delivery. He throws plenty of strikes and generates a lot of ground balls, though he can get radar-gun happy and overthrow at times. Severino?s best offspeed pitch as an amateur was a tight slider with good depth and late tilt, but his changeup has become his most advanced secondary weapon in the pro ranks. He still flashes a quality slider at times, though it?s inconsistent.

Top 100 Rankings

Career Transactions

RHP Luis Severino elected free agency.
New York Yankees activated RHP Luis Severino from the 15-day injured list.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Somerset Patriots.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Somerset Patriots.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
New York Yankees sent RHP Luis Severino on a rehab assignment to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
New York Yankees placed RHP Luis Severino on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 27, 2023. Right lat strain.