Inside The Pinstripes

Luis Gil Looks Like He Belongs After Gutsier Sequel

With the Yankees in need of rotation help, the 23-year-old right-hander has checked a number of boxes early in his big-league career.

Gary Phillips

Luis Gil was only 19 when the Yankees acquired him, but the right-hander had already shown impressive stuff.

After missing the 2016 season due to shoulder surgery, Gil recorded a 2.59 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 41.2 innings while pitching for the Dominican Summer League Twins in 2017. So when Minnesota wanted to trade for Yankees outfielder Jake Cave in March 2018, New York saw a young arm worth taking a flier on.

Fast forward three years and Gil is looking more like a gift early in his big-league career. The 23-year-old is only in the majors now due to the Yankees’ desperate need for pitching, but Gil looks like a starter with staying power.

Loaded with a heater that can hit 98, a biting slider and changeup that sits in the low 90s, Gil has kept opponents scoreless through his first 11 innings. That makes him just the second Yankees pitcher ever with zero runs allowed in his first two MLB starts. The only other member of that exclusive club, Slow Joe Doyle, achieved the feat in 1906.

“I just want to help the team any way possible,” Gil, through an interpreter, said Sunday after striking out eight Mariners over five innings in a game the Yankees ultimately lost. “There’s a saying in Spanish that once you arrive, you just want to help out in any way. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

With Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery on the COVID-19 injured list and Luis Severino, Corey Kluber and Domingo Germán all recovering from injuries, Gil’s ascension has come with the Yankees in dire need. He dazzled in his debut on August 3, tossing 88 pitches over six innings against the Orioles. He walked one and struck out six.

Gil wasn’t as crisp Sunday against Seattle, requiring 92 pitches to get through five innings. He had trouble commanding hi fastball and walked two. But he also demonstrated put-away stuff, inducing 17 whiffs. He also displayed the composure required to pitch out of tough situations, like the one he found himself in during the second inning.

An error behind Gil extended the frame before a free pass loaded the bases. But he then responded with a strike out—he had some help from the umpire—and a ground out. After 31 pitches, he escaped the toughest inning of his major league career unscathed.

The overall gutsier sequel left Aaron Boone impressed.

“He wasn’t as sharp as his first time out. His first time out, when he went six, he [had] great command with everything,” the manager said. “Today he was actually a little more scattered but made a lot of really important pitches, so that was encouraging to see. When he wasn’t at his most dominant, you still see the swing and miss that he has, the stuff is still there, and he made pitches when he had to.”

Gil’s combination of stuff, poise and even swagger—he’s flaunted a few K struts—have made him look like a pitcher who belongs in the big leagues, even if he arrived sooner than expected.

It’s unclear, however, what type of role Gil will play the rest of the season. He was demoted after Sunday’s start, but that also happened following his debut. Such is the life of a pitcher with options.

However, the time for a more crowded Yankees rotation is coming. Severino and Kluber are expected back between the end of August and the start of September. Cole and Montgomery, meanwhile, are doing well physically after testing positive for the virus. Their timelines are still uncertain, as the Yankees will have to see where their arms are at once cleared for action.

Should all those starters return, Gil could eventually find himself on the outside looking in. But health is once again a big if for the Yankees, which means Gil will continue to get opportunities for the time being.

“Until we get some guys back or know what we have moving forward, he’ll certainly be in that mix,” Boone said.

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Gary Phillips
GARY PHILLIPS

A graduate of Seton Hall, Gary Phillips has written and/or edited for The Athletic, The New York Times, Sporting News, USA Today Sports’ Jets Wire, Bleacher Report and Yankees Magazine, among others. He can be reached at garyhphillips@outlook.com.

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