Luis Severino, the most valuable pitcher in baseball

Spring training 2017. His rotation spot anything but secure, Luis Severino entered camp on the backs of a massively disappointing sophomore campaign. After rocketing through the Yankees system and putting together an excellent rookie year just two summers before, Severino had taken a massive step back in his 2016 campaign. As a starter, his K% dropped from 22.0% to 18.1% and his HR/9 shot up from 1.3 to 2.1, resulting in a shocking ERA rise from 2.89 to 8.50.

He had been demoted to Triple-A, called back up as a reliever, and whispers in the Yankee universe suggested it was time to give up on Severino as a starter. After being re-imagined in a bullpen role during the final months of the…