All of the recent New York Yankees Covid encounters have caused the Yankees to do things they might not have done otherwise. Bringing up Luis Gil early was one of those moves.
“It was needed,†Boone said. “We’re expecting Gerrit Cole to be going tonight, and that’s tough news to get when your ace goes down, and you’re wondering how — forget replace him — but how you’re going to cover those innings.â€
After weighing the possibilities, the Yankees chose to bring up prospect Luis Gil (pronounced Heel) from Scranton Wilkes/Barre. Many would have thought that the Yankees would bring back up last season’s debuting starter Deivi Garcia, but Garcia is pitching poorly at Scranton, whereas Luis Gil has been making a name for himself.
Gil did not disappoint. In the first inning, Gil took the mound in his debut and flew out Cedric Mullins. Ramon Urias struck out. Ryan Mountcastle reached on a collision with Rizzo. Anthony Santander flew out to Judge in right to end the half and a good first inning for Gil.
At the second, Anthony Santander led off against Gil, and he flew out to center. Austin Hays flew out to Torres. Pedro Severino went down looking as Gil had a 1-2-3 inning. By the end of his sixth innings of work, he had given up 4 hits, walking one and recording 6 strikeouts in his first win as a major league pitcher.
Gil was acquired from the Twins for Jake Cave in March 2018. In his third year with the New York Yankees, he has become an up-and-coming pitcher of the young arms in the Yankee organization. Fangraphs rates him twelfth in the organization, while Baseball America has him fourth among all Yankees farmhands. Both raters point out his fastball that gets into the high nineties. With the Patriots and Railriders, he has gotten numerous swinging strikeouts. He also has a high-speed changeup and a mid 80’s slider. Scouts say his secret to success is his fastball with movement.
Between the two teams this year, he has a respectable 4.13 ERA and a 4-1 record in his last fifteen games. Gil strikes out 33% of hitters he faces but also walks too many players, which has dogged his career.
The 23-year-old is 6′ 2″ and weighs 185 pounds. There is no question that Gil will be a major league pitcher; the question will be if it is as a starter or out of the bullpen. But, on August 3rd, he got to experience something Gil has waited all of his life for, and he was successful.
Gil is of Dominican descent. As an international free agent in 2015, Gil signed with the Minnesota Twins. He debuted in the Dominican Summer League for the Twins. Gil did not pitch in 2016 and was 0-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts in 2017. Just before the minor league season started in 2018, Gil was traded to the New York Yankees.
Gil will get his next start against the Seattle Mariners this Sunday in an afternoon matinee. He will face the Mariners Yusei Kikuchi. The New York Yankees will hope that he can come close to his debut performance; if he can, he will at the very least become a viable option for starting games when needed. On the other hand, if he bombs like many pitchers do in their sophomore start, he may not be quite ready for the majors. In either case, it appears that Gil has a bright future with the New York Yankees.