Yankees Luis Severino Placed Back Into Rotation: Fantasy Impact

Luis Severino has found his way back to the starting rotation for the Yankees. After greatly struggling to begin the season, could he offer fantasy owners fantasy value moving forward?

There have not been too many bright spots for the New York Yankees this season, but Luis Severino was supposed to be one entering 2016. After a dazzling debut for the club last season, he shaped up to be one of the best young fantasy arms entering the season. But, he got off to a carer worse start, and the Yankees were forced to demote him to AAA.

As the trade deadline came, and the Yankees officially waved the white flag on the 2016 campaign, the team knew that it was time to roll with those players that they thought had a future with the team. Whether they were struggling or not, the team is going to dedicate starting time to those players, and that in part, has allowed Severino to rejoin the starting rotation.

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Luis Severino was demoted in May, as he went down to AAA and did what he has done his entire career: dominate. He has a career minor league ERA of 2.44, so it was no surprise to see him do well during his latest stint. At Scranton, he has posted a, 3.25 ERA/ 57 K/1.08 WHIP line, over 63 innings. He has been rock steady in his minors over the last four seasons, excelled in his major league time last season, and has easily one of the best arms in the organization, so why did he struggle so badly to start the season?

The root of his woes lie directly in the fact that, his slider was terrible the first two months of 2016. While his fastball command was erratic as well, his slider lacked the depth and tilt that spring boarded his rise through the minors. His average fastball velocity, 97 mph, will always be in his back pocket, but without another pitch to keep hitters honest, major leaguers have no problem sitting dead red.

Severino is still only 22-years-old and has a ton of talent, so the demotion this season should hopefully only be small bump in the road during his career. This season also served as the first time he was hit hard since joining the Yanks as an amateur free agent, so to see him bounce back from adversity will go along way in boosting his career.

In terms of fantasy value, Severino being placed back into the rotation should certainly be of some intrigue. He was promoted back to the majors in late July, but was initially being used a RP. But, after trading Ivan Nova, and after seeing Chad Green also have his fair share of struggles, the Yanks have seen enough from Severino to get him in back in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

He currently has an ugly, 6.02 ERA/4.80 FIP this season, so his numbers are certainly unsightly. He has lowered his Walk rate this season, and his S0/9 has dipped only slightly, but the 1.45 WHIP has been his biggest bugaboo. With him staying in the strike zone so much to begin the season and without his slider early on, he has surrendered 50 hits this season in only 43 innings.

However, there have been some encouraging signs since he has rejoined the club. For one, his slider has been absolutely filthy, and it finally shows the sharp break necessary. He has not given up an earned run hit over his three outings since July, and he has only allowed one hit over those 8 innings of work as well.

Fantasy owners had a lot of hope for Luis Severino entering the season, but he failed to offer any value. But, now back in the rotation, and finally armed with the stuff that everyone raved about, he could offer owners value after all. He is not a must add just yet, as owners should want to see him during his start against the Red Sox on Aug, 9th , as it will be important for him to execute the same level of crispness that he has showcased out of the bullpen.

If his stuff looks sharp and he can avoid a major blowup versus Boston, fantasy owners should be more than willing to give another chance off the waiver wire.

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