For a good couple of months, Luis Gil made the New York Yankees feel like they didn’t need reigning Cy Young winner Cole. That turned out to be the start of a Rookie of the Year campaign.
The 26-year-old right-hander was named the winner of the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year award, becoming the 10th player to win the honor in Yankees history, the most for any American League team. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers (18) have more in the National League.
Gil joins names like Aaron Judge, Derek Jeter and Thurman Munson on New York’s list of winners. It wasn’t a completely even season that got him there, but it was enough to establish him as a legitimate starting pitcher going forward. He was also the starting pitcher in the Yankees’ only victory in the 2024 World Series (which did not figure in the BBWAA voting conducted in the regular season).
Gil also won the award despite making his MLB debut three years earlier, pitching 29 1/3 innings in six starts in 2021. He retained his rookie eligibility because he pitched fewer than 50 innings and spent fewer than 45 days on the roster. Yankees asset.
Luis Gil showed how he recovers from Tommy John surgery
Gil could have competed for the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2022 if he hadn’t torn his UCL that season. He was sidelined until late 2023, then entered the Yankees’ rotation as the fifth starter after spring training.
That rotation spot was only open because ace Gerrit Cole missed the start of the season with right elbow inflammation. Still, Gil took the opportunity and ran with it.
At the end of May, Gil had a 1.99 ERA, 0.974 WHIP and 79 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings with 11 starts. Hitters were hitting .135 against him. That dominance replaced Cole’s production at the top of the Yankees’ rotation, which was quite a story for a former minor prospect whom New York acquired by DFAing Jake Cave in 2018 and getting Gil from the Twins. Minnesota in a corresponding depth swap.
It seemed like an outrageous scam on the part of the Yankees, and it still seems more than one-sided today. However, Gil slowed after those first two months, posting a 6.45 ERA in June and a 4.20 ERA in the second half. He was lost 15 days later in the season with a lower back strain.
At the end of the regular season, Gil looked like a talented pitcher who sometimes struggles with control. He led the American League with 77 walks, but the overall package of 151 2/3 above-average innings was enough to make him the American League’s top candidate.