Yankees Encouraged After Luis Severino's First Rehab Appearance
By Parker White
Luis Severino made his first rehab appearance on Sunday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and because it's been so long since he's thrown in a live game, all you wanted to see was Severino walk away healthy.
Well, he did more than that.
You would think it would take Severino a little bit of time to get his velocity back, but he wasn't sitting in the low-90's. Just about all of his fastballs were in the mid-90's, which is a great sign.
Luis Severino threw 33 pitches, 20 strikes.
— Conor Foley (@RailRidersTT) September 1, 2019
My non-expert breakdown:
- 17 fastballs, 94-96 mph, 4 swings and misses, one home run
- 12 sliders, 80-86 mph, one swing and miss, one single
- 4 changeups, 89 mph, one swing and miss, one double
“First time he’s thrown in a game and he looked good,” said Encarnacion, who was also making his first rehab appearance. “His velocity is there.”
Yankees' Luis Severino has encouraging first rehab outing https://t.co/6ibbwnWZV5 pic.twitter.com/tlOI6tGgOv
— New York Post (@nypost) September 1, 2019
Severino threw 33 pitches on Sunday, 20 of which went for strikes. Just about half his pitches were fastballs, and he was able to get six swings and misses on it.
The Yankees will be extra careful with Severino and air on the side of caution before bringing him back, but having that kind of stuff in your first rehab appearance is rare. It might not be too long before Severino is back in the rotation, which is a great sign for a team looking to contend and is in need of pitching.