Luis Gil is back on a pitching mound for the New York Yankees.
After an impressive call-up performance in 2021, Gil missed a majority of the next two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2022. In September 2023, he finally began his rehab and started two games in Single-A Tampa.
Fast-forward to Spring Training, and Gil earned the start for the Yankees' first game against the Detroit Tigers. The 25-year-old pitched two innings and allowed two runs; despite a rocky second inning, Gil showed a very lively fastball and impressive velocity in general, which was especially evident in a one-two-three first inning.
In the first inning, Gil needed just ten pitches to retire the side in order. Despite immediately taking a pitch clock violation, his first pitch induced a pop out from Akil Baddoo. He then struck out the next two batters, battling back from a 3-1 count against Justyn-Henry Malloy before striking out Colt Keith on three pitches.
The second inning, however, was a bit troublesome. After retiring Javier Baez on a first-pitch flyout, Gil began to struggle with his command; ahead 1-2 on Matt Vierling, he threw five straight balls to walk Vierling and put Andy Ibanez ahead in a 2-0 hitter's count. Gil found the strike zone on the next two pitches, but the second was a hanging slider that Ibanez hammered for a two-run home run.
Although his command still was a bit shaky, Gil managed to rebound and finish the inning. He shook off the homer by striking out Keston Hiura on five pitches; despite allowing a walk to Jake Rogers, Gil then battled Ryan Kreidler for eight pitches before inducing a pop-out in foul territory to end the inning.
Ultimately, Gil allowed just one hit (the Ibanez home run) and two walks, while striking out three. His fastball was excellent, getting five of his six outs and nine whiffs, while averaging 96.4 mph and topping out at 98 mph. His slider could use some work, but he threw it hard, averaging 86.4 mph.
In a report from Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the team wants to "find out about [Gil] as a starter" but didn't rule out using him in the bullpen. The current book on Gil is that he has excellent strikeout stuff, but still needs to improve his command; according to Boone, Gil is focusing on exactly that during the spring.
Based on his current player profile, Gil is better suited as a reliever, but if he can find the strike zone more consistently, he could become a very viable starting option.
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