Pirates' minor league lefty retires

Pirates Prospects is reporting (sub. req'd) that the Pirates have placed minor league left-hander John Sever on the voluntarily retired list.  Sever was a 20th-round draft pick out of Bethune-Cookman University in 2014.  He drew some attention that year when he fanned 13.9 hitters per nine innings, with a 1.33 ERA, at Bristol in the Appalachian League.  He didn't dominate to the same degree with the West Virginia Power in 2015, but still pitched well in a swing role.  He finished the season with a 2.91 ERA and 8.7 K/9.  He didn't rank high on any prospect lists, but at worst he was a dark horse prospect as a reliever.  There's been no explanation of why Sever retired, but obviously a host of reasons could have played into his decision.  Should he decide to return to baseball, he'll remain under contract to the Pirates.