LUIS, LUIS….HOLD ON

[Angels]

I've loved the recent reports I’ve seen on SP Luis Severino. Here’s a quick collection:

“Luis Severino touched 99 mph in his last outing. He’s a beast and he knows it. His secondary pitches are coming along, and he is a strikeout machine. By the end of the season he may be considered the best pitching prospect in the system.” – Greg Corcoran, Bronx Baseball Daily

“When the Yankees signed teenager Luis Severino in 2012, he threw 91 mph. In 2013, at Class A Charleston, he was touching 97. Like his fastball, Severino is a prospect on the rise.” – Andrew Marchand, ESPN.com

“Last year, as an 18-year-old, he would have been a high school senior in the draft. He was pitching in the Gulf Coast League in Charleston, running it up there 96, 97.” – Mark Newman, Yankees senior VP of baseball operations

“Severino intrigues me for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he's shown very advanced qualities in terms of both stuff and ability at a very young age. He has a fastball that’s touched as high as 97 miles per hour, which plays up because he gets good extension. He couples it with a solid-average changeup that’s hit as high as 90 miles per hour, a big plus for someone his age. He also has a slider that flashes plus at times. Moreover, after dominating the Gulf Coast League [32 strikeouts and 16 hits over 26 2/3 innings], the Yankees saw fit to skip him over Staten Island and send him straight to Charleston in the South Atlantic League, where he fanned 21 in as many innings and walked just four. He has to prove it over a full season, obviously, and he’s a bit on the smaller side, but three excellent pitches and command of the strike zone is an excellent recipe to start.” -- Josh Norris, Baseball America.

“His three-pitch mix might be three pluses out of the ‘pen, and it's a grade-65 or 70 fastball even in the rotation.” – Keith Law, ESPN

“The Yankees are extremely high on Severino. Came onto the radar a little bit last year, but could really solidify himself as the team’s top young pitching prospect this year.” – Chad Jennings, Gannett Publications

Severino is now 1-1 with a 1.76 ERA and 43 K / 9 BB in 41 innings at Class A Charleston. His career ERA now sits under 2.00.