New York Yankees’ rookie Luis Gil is making a strong push for a rotation spot, even though the unit is full at the moment after getting back perhaps their two best pitchers this week from the COVID-19 list: Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery.
Jameson Taillon is pitching admirably (3.89 ERA in 118 innings), and so is Nestor Cortes Jr. (2.55 ERA in 49.1 innings). Andrew Heaney has been battered, yes, (9.00 ERA in three starts for the Yankees, 5.78 for the season), but he was recently acquired and is also in the picture for a rotation spot.
Yet Gil has made a fantastic impression in his first three Major League starts with the Yankees. In 15.2 innings, the righty fireballer, who has a high-spin fastball that can reach the upper-90s, hasn’t allowed any earned runs so far, with seven walks and 18 strikeouts.
He gave the Yankees another 4 2/3 scoreless innings
Although he had four walks in his last start against the Red Sox on Tuesday, Gil kept them in check for 4 2/3 inning.
“A lot of adrenaline,†the Yankees rookie told NJ Advance Media via the team’s Spanish interpreter. “I was very excited to face Boston and they have a really good lineup. You understand that you cannot make mistakes.â€
The Yankees’ fourth-best prospect according to Baseball America, Gil is really making things difficult for manager Aaron Boone, especially considering that Corey Kluber and Domingo German could eventually be back and there is a small chance Luis Severino pitches this season, too.
“Had some walks out there, but that’s a big game out there,†Boone said. “Red Sox-Yankees in August, playing for a lot. I thought he was unflappable. He really locked in, concentrated on making his pitches and, look, when he’s in the strike zone, he’s difficult to hit. He’s got the stuff to get really good teams out. He made some big pitches tonight when he had to, gave us a really strong outing and put us in position to win another game.â€
The Yankees appear to be increasing their pitching depth at the most opportunistic time.