New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil has been named Baseball Digest’s 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, the publication announced on Thursday.
The 26-year-old right-hander becomes the third Yankees player in franchise history to be given AL Rookie of the Year honors by Baseball Digest, joining Derek Jeter in 1996 and Aaron Judge in 2017. He received six of the 11 first-place votes, beating out outfielder Colton Cowser of the Baltimore Orioles and right-handed closer Mason Miller of the Athletics.
Battling back from injuries that shelved him for much of the last two seasons, Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA this season, adding 171 strikeouts. He allowed three or fewer runs in 22 of his 29 starts, two or fewer in 18, and one or zero in 17. George McQuillan of the 1908 Philadelphia Phillies is the only rookie pitcher to have more starts of zero or one earned run allowed in MLB history (21).
His 171 punchouts also rank second-most for a rookie in Yankee franchise history, trailing only Russ Ford (209) in 1910.
Over in the National League, Pittsburgh Pirates phenom pitcher Paul Skenes took home Rookie of the Year honors. Making his MLB just 203 days after being selected No. 1 overall (the fastest top pick to reach the majors in 35 years), Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts.
This is just the third time in the 53 years of Baseball Digest’s Rookie of the Year award that both recipients were pitchers. Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays and Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves won in 2011 and Mark Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers and Butch Metzger of the San Diego Padres won in 1976.
For more on Luis Gil and the Yankees, visit AMNY.com
