Yankees' Severino collects strikeout No. 200, joins elite group
The New York Yankees have a budding ace on their staff, and, in collecting his 200th strikeout of the season on Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, Luis Severino became the first American League pitcher since Felix Hernandez with at least that many punchouts in a season before turning 24 years old.
Since Hernandez accomplished the feat with 217 strikeouts in 2009, the milestone has been met by three other National League pitchers:
| Pitcher | Year | Age | K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Fernandez | 2016 | 23 | 253 |
| Noah Syndergaard | 2016 | 23 | 218 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2011 | 23 | 248 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2010 | 22 | 212 |
| Felix Hernandez | 2009 | 23 | 217 |
The accomplishment is much more common in the NL, with pitchers having the benefit of facing other pitchers as opposed to designated hitters. Severino became only the fifth pitcher since 1987 to make the prestigious list:
| Pitcher | Year | Age | K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Hernandez | 2009 | 23 | 217 |
| Scott Kazmir | 2007 | 23 | 239 |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 2006 | 23 | 202 |
| Barry Zito | 2001 | 23 | 205 |
(Stats courtesy: Baseball-Reference)
Amazingly, 2009 was Hernandez's fourth full season, which is still arguably the Seattle Mariners ace's best season, posting a 2.49 ERA and 3.09 FIP over 238 2/3 innings.
Severino has had middling success over the past two seasons, collecting just 133 1/3 innings prior to the 2017 campaign. However, this year, he's striking out more than 25 percent of the batters he faces, and has more than doubled his career workload.