It’s August, which means fantasy baseball owners are scraping the bottom of the barrel to find a Major League Baseball call-up to add to their rosters.
Look no further than New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino.
Severino will start Aug. 5 against Boston, marking his much-anticipated debut. He’s the top pitching prospect in the Yankees farm system and has been near unhittable this year in Triple A. In 11 games, he’s 7-0, with a 1.91 ERA, 50 strikeouts and a 0.929 WHIP.
In his Minor League Baseball career, he averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game and a 2.30 ERA. There’s a reason why he was rated the No. 23 prospect in Major League Baseball prior to this season by MLB.com.
However, now it’s his turn in the big leagues. Will his stuff translate to Major League hitters? There’s no way to know just yet.
Fantasy baseball owners must decided what their need is at the moment. If you’re in need of a spark, I’m sure there are far worse options than picking up an unproven rookie. If you’re in a final push toward the playoffs and need quality starts from your pitchers, then picking up an unproven starter may not be the best idea.
I’d hold off on Severino at this point, especially if competing for playoff positioning. His ownership has skyrocketed in fantasy baseball leagues, but there’s no reason to jump too quick on that bandwagon. See where he is after a few starts before considering him during the playoffs.
