When Luis Severino reared back and fired a 98-mile-per-hour fastball past the Tampa Bay Rays slugger Logan Morrison on Wednesday night, the pitch carried with it a degree of symbolism.
It was not only Severino’s final pitch of a remarkable regular season, but it was also a high-velocity declaration that Severino, the Yankees’ young ace, would seem to have plenty more to give — beginning with Tuesday’s American League wild-card playoff against the visiting Minnesota Twins.
Severino, who was banished to the minor leagues and the bullpen last year, earned a spot in the starting rotation in the spring, then made the All-Star team and followed that with a dominating second half in which he went toe to toe with some of baseball’s better pitchers: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Felix Hernandez, Michael Fulmer, Andrew Cashner and Jacob deGrom.