Yankees Prospects Gil, Wells Early AL ROY Favorites for 2024

With the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season complete, talk around the sport turns to two topics: the postseason and the end-of-year awards. While American League MVP and Cy Young seem to have clear winners, the same cannot be said for the AL Rookie of the Year award.

For the Yankees, they have two names that could very well walk away with the hardware, in the form of starting pitcher Luis Gil, and catcher Austin Wells.

In many people’s (and sportsbooks’) eyes, Gil is the odds-on favorite to win the award in the American League. Now 26 years old, he has actually been a rookie for three seasons, having made his first appearance in Pinstripes all the way back in 2021, where he made six starts and carried a very impressive 3.07 ERA through 29.1 total innings and looked to be a potential name in the Yankees rotation for years to come.

However, injuries and other starting pitching depth forced Gil to make only one appearance for the Yankees between 2022 and 2023.

Entering into the 2024 season, Gil was slated to begin the season in Triple-A Scranton yet again, with the Yankees having already solidified their rotation. However, midway through spring training, Gerrit Cole suffered an elbow injury and would need to miss time, leaving the spot open for Gil, who had already been sent down to minor-league camp.

But one spring training start changed everything for Gil, who, after an outstanding start against the Philadelphia Phillies on the road during spring training, took the reins as the Yankees’ fifth starter and never looked back. Gil finished the year with a 3.50 ERA, the lowest among AL rookies, a 15-7 record, which is tied for the most wins among all rookies record, and 171 strikeouts, tied for the second most among all rookies.

If picked, Gil would be the first Yankee rookie pitcher since Dave Righetti in 1981 to win the award. However, a teammate of his is hoping that his name is called instead. In fact, it’s one of Gil’s own battery partners.

Austin Wells hits home run Yankees — Sep 9, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) tosses his bat after hitting a three run home run against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Wells entered the year expected to split the catching duties with Jose Trevino. After coming up at the end of the season a year ago, it’s safe to say that very few expected Wells to have the impact he had. When the Yankees desperately needed a cleanup hitter, Wells was slotted into the spot.

Although Wells didn’t have the best conclusion to the season, his numbers are nothing to scoff at. Wells finished the season hitting .229 with 13 homers, the most among all rookie catchers. In fact, Wells was the only qualified rookie catcher this season. He also recorded 55 RBI.

While it’s unlikely Wells will win the award, it was still a very solid season for the young backstop.