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Yankees Prospects: Luis Severino makes Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America top 50 midseason lists

We might have a new top prospect in the organization now

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

So this is embarrassing. One day after reporting that the Yankees would not have any players on the Baseball Prospectus top 50 midseason list, one of our prospects makes it. Right-handed pitcher Luis Severino ranks at No. 48 on the list, so he just made it, but it's still great to see a Yankee on here. They also have great things to say about him:

Not many guys go from a mostly unknown to a top 50 prospect in less than a year, but here we are. Even with concerns about his size or lack thereof and a delivery that ranges from mid- to high-effort, Severino has quieted lots of critics with his electric right arm. His fastball sits easily in the 93-96 range and is topping out at 97 this season. While the fastball is his meal ticket, his secondaries are on the rise, especially his changeup. He's showing the ability to maintain good arm speed, which allows him to disguise this pitch and the late arm-side action on it. There is still some debate about whether his future is in the rotation or out of the pen, but if his slider comes along as his changeup has, the odds of him sticking as a starter will greatly increase. No matter which way you view his future role, Severino is a legit talent and one of the most enjoyable arms to watch in any farm.

This is the first time a Yankee has cracked the BP top 50 list since Gary Sanchez ranked No. 47 before the 2013 season. Since then he has dropped down to No. 85 and could continue to drop until he falls off the list entirely. Luckily for the Yankees, they should also have a few players in the running for a top 100 ranking, including Rob Refsnyder, Aaron Judge, Ian Clarkin, and Eric Jagielo. It will be interesting to see where everyone ends up when it's all said and done.

Severino also made the Baseball America top 50 midseason list, ranking at No. 34 overall, which is incredibly more impressive.

Yankees' breakout prospect is a long way from big leagues but has three potential above-average pitches.

The Yankees haven't had a prospect rank this high on the BA list since Manny Banuelos ranked No. 29 on the 2012 preseason list.

Luis Severino is only 20 years old and is currently in High-A Tampa, where he is over three years younger than the average player. Despite this, he has pitched very well with a 1.62 ERA and a 20/4 strikeouts-to-walk ratio in 16.2 innings. On the year he has a 2.56 ERA with a 9.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 84.1 innings. If he can continue to develop his secondary pitches and his high-effort delivery doesn't prove to be problematic for him, he can only go up from here.