Jon Heyman bullish on Yankees' electric pitcher as Rookie of the Year frontrunner

New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil has had a pair of rough starts recently, but he's still very much in the running for the American League Rookie of the Year award.

Gil started the season as one of the best starting pitchers in MLB — not just among rookies. Up until his last two starts, Gil had a 2.03 ERA, which was fourth-best among starting pitchers. His 96 strikeouts ranked ninth among starters during that span.

So even with two very poor starts against the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets, Gil is still the frontrunner for the AL Rookie of the Year award in the eyes of The New York Post's Jon Heyman.

"Until his past couple of starts, he was a Cy Young contender," Heyman wrote.

Two starts shouldn't completely crush Gil's chances to the win the award. But the electric rookie also can't let it result in a downward slope for the remainder of the season.

In his last two starts combined, Gil has thrown 5.2 innings allowing 12 hits, 12 runs (all earned), two home runs, six walks and just three strikeouts.

With 85.2 of his 119 career innings pitched coming this season, the Yankees will be monitoring Gil's arm. He threw only four innings in 2022 and missed the entire 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

He's proven how valuable he can be to the starting rotation so the Yankees are certainly going to be cautious with his usage.

Regardless, if Gil can get back on track either as a starter or a reliever, he still has a strong chance to end his rookie season with some hardware.

For more Yankees coverage, check out Kevin Hickey's work on Sporting News.

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