Yankees' Luis Gil Showing Flashes of Old Self Again

Last October, Luis Gil was at a low point in his career. Coming into the postseason, the New York Yankees weren't sure whether they should start their former Rookie of the Year. Then, once he took the field, he proved those fears right, struggling to get anybody out. While the Blue Jays didn't blast him the way they did with Max Fried or Carlos Rodon, it was clear that if he didn't get yanked early, that lineup was going to put a crooked number on him.

It didn't help that, once Gil came into camp, those same concerns from last season remained. The strikeout stuff was down, and his velocity wasn't close to what he once was when he first broke into the league. That was until his most recent start, where, at the 11th hour, Gil looked reminiscent of the version of himself that carried the Yankees rotation in the first half of 2024.

Sep 28, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil (81) reacts as he heads to the dugout after the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Against the Baltimore Orioles, Gil pitched five scoreless innings and allowed one hit. What was most impressive was that the strikeout stuff was back. He struck out seven batters and walked just one.

The best sign that the Gil of old was back came right away against former crosstown foe turned American League East rival Pete Alonso. With two outs in the first, Gil threw strictly fastballs against the prolific sugger. He peppered the strike zone with heaters between 95 and 96 miles per hour before getting Alonso to whiff at a pitch at his hands. That one was clocked in at 98.5 MPH.

In the second, he generated two strikeouts. Gil, again, showed off some of that high heat against Leody Taveras. Taveras whiffed on a 98.5 MPH fastball right above the zone. It was the perfect placement.

The Gil of Old

After the start, manager Aaron Boone said Gil had a striking resemblance to the pitcher who helped the Yankees get back to the World Series.

"That was 2024 Luis Gil right there," he proclaimed, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

The sentiment was not off base either. Gil generated nine swings and misses in total. Then, there was the spike in velocity on, not just the fastball, but all of his pitches.

He averaged 96.8 MPH on the fastball, which was up from 95.3 last year. He also averaged 93.2 MPH on his changeup. That's a 2.4 MPH jump in his previous season. He even saw a spike in velo on his slider. In 2025, he averaged 86.7 MPH on it. Against the Orioles, he was sitting at 88.6.

This successful outing comes a few days after the Athletic's Chris Kirschner reported that Gil was working on his release point. If this was the issue with him, well, so far so good.

You can see here that the Yankees are working with Luis Gil on his release point pic.twitter.com/Tbf7os6MjV
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) March 18, 2026

An Upbeat Gil

"The thing that I feel happiest about is how everything has come together right now," Gil said. "It's at the right time. We're getting ready to start the season. I'm very happy with how I feel, being back to where I feel like myself."

Gil then mentioned that he was working on a few things.

"Spring Training is a time where you're polishing certain things," he continued. "You're trying certain things with your pitches. Mechanically, you're trying certain things. The point of it is to get ready for a long season."

The next step is regular season success, with a ton of swing-and-miss stuff and hopefully, a full workload. Gil has yet to have a healthy season. 2026 is a good time to do that.

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