The New York Yankees have been supplementing starting pitching with Domingo German and occasionally rookie, JP Sears.
After getting batted around against the Houston Astros, German bounced back with a solid performance against the Mets on Wednesday. He gave up two earned runs over 4.2 innings, which by most standards isn’t great but acceptable with proper run support.
In his second performance since coming back from a shoulder injury, German is still gradually working his way back but showing progress. In the meantime, the Yankees are hoping to get starter Luis Severino back in the coming weeks, receiving a bit of good injury news on Friday afternoon.
Severino had picked up a shoulder injury in his most recent appearance against the Cincinnati Reds. He gave up three consecutive homers before being pulled after just two innings.
“After that second inning, when I was warming up, it was getting worse,” Severino said. “So I told myself before something even bigger happens, let me stop it right here. Hopefully it’s not something that would take much time.”
Thankfully, Severino will start throwing again on Monday. Fatigue simply caught up with the Yankees starter, who is coming off a year rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery.
Boone: Severino will likely start throwing again on Monday. No timetable for return as of yet #yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) July 29, 2022
How has Luis Severino performed for the Yankees this season?
Severino has played far above expectations, hosting a 3.45 ERA, 3.48 xFIP, and striking out 9.94 batters per nine innings. The 28-year-old is generating an 81.2% left on base rate and 43% ground ball rate, including a 3.40 SIERA.
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Looking into his specific pitches, Severino is utilizing a 4-seam fastball, change-up, slider, and cutter this season. His slider is by far his most lethal pitch, generating a .171 average against with a 42.3% WHIFF rate and 30.8% putaway rate. He’s utilized his slider 21.2% of the time, but is primarily featuring his 4-seam at 46.3%. His fastball is averaging out at 96.1 mph, finally touching a similar velocity to his healthier years back in 2018-19.
Considering he’s already reached 86 innings this season, it is no surprise he’s dealing with a bit of fatigue and needed a few weeks off. Hopefully, he will return to his usual self and provide the Yankees with stellar starting pitching in the rotation the rest of the way.