Yankees right-hander Luis Gil has been named American League rookie of the Year, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced. Colton Cowser the Orioles finished second, while Gil's teammate Austin Wells came third.
Gil, 26, made his big league debut back in 2021, regardless of what his eligibility for this award might imply. The right-hander made seven starts in the majors between the 2021-22 seasons, posting a 3.78 ERA in those 33 1/3 innings. Unfortunately for Gil, the start of his career was derailed by Tommy John surgery in early 2022, and he did not return to his professional career until the end of the 2023 minor league season. Given his long layoff and the fact that the Yankees entered spring training with a solid rotation on paper Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Nestor CortesAnd Clarke SmithIt initially seemed all but certain that the 26-year-old's return to the majors would be further delayed as he began the season in the minors while awaiting a big league opportunity.
However, that chance came sooner than expected as Cole missed the entire first half after being diagnosed with a nerve problem in his throwing arm. That opened the door for Gil to make the opening roster as the club's fifth starter, and he dominated the first few months of the season. In his first twelve starts of the year, Gil posted a sensational 1.82 ERA with a 31.5% strikeout rate and a 2.98 FIP over 69 1/3 innings. This dominant performance was more than enough to earn him a rotation spot even after Cole moved back into the rotation, and although Gil's performance was far more uneven the rest of the season, he still started with a solid 3.20 ERA and a FIP of 3.58 in the month of August over 21 starts.
August proved to be a rocky month for Gil this season as he only made three short starts before his eventual victory ends up on the injured list due to back strain. This injury may have contributed to his difficult finish to the year, as Gil posted a weak 4.38 ERA and 5.76 FIP in eight starts between August and September. Of course, between his long layoff and the fact that his 151 2/3 innings were by far a career high, it's hardly a surprise that Gil appeared to be losing steam toward the end of the year. Overall, his final numbers were solid thanks to his supernatural start to the year with a 3.50 ERA (117 ERA+) and a 4.14 FIP in 29 starts.
The Yankees will not receive a draft pick under the Prospective Promotion Incentive as a result of Gil's win, as the right-hander did not appear on the required number of top-100 prospect lists to qualify for the PPI. That doesn't apply to second-rounder Cowser, who would have given the Orioles their second straight PPI selection and rookie of the Year win had he won the award. The 24-year-old outfielder had an impressive season this year, hitting .242/.321/.447 (120 wRC+) with 24 home runs in 153 games while splitting time between left and center field for Baltimore. This impressive performance almost took home the award, as Cowser received 13 first-place votes to Gil's 15 and actually appeared on 27 ballots, as opposed to 26 for Gil.
This split voting continued later on as Wells took third place despite the closer distance of both Athletics Mason Miller and Guardians Relief Cade Smith He received one first place vote apiece, while Wells himself received no first place votes. Miller and Smith finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in Red Sox outfielder honors Wilyer Abreu and Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford took sixth and seventh place with a handful of dissenting votes each.
