Luis Gil Named American League Rookie of the Year

Luis Gil is celebrating a special honor…

The 26-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees has been named the MLB’s American League Rookie of the Year

Luis GilGil, a revelation two-plus years removed from Tommy John surgery, edged out teammate and catcher Austin Wells and Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser to win the award in the AL in a tight race.

Gil tallied 15 of the 30 first-place votes, narrowly topping Cowser, who finished with 13 first-place votes and five points behind Gil. Oakland A‘s closer Mason Miller and Cleveland Guardians reliever Cade Smith each earned one first-place vote.

The five-point differential marks the second-closest election in an AL Rookie of the Year race since the three-player ballot was introduced in 2003.

“I was focused on having a good year, on helping the team win as much as I could and being focused on my career,” Gil said.

Gil entered spring training an afterthought in the Yankees’ plan, slated to start the season in the minors after being sent to minor league camp in early March.

The Yankees had their starting rotation set. Gil had electric stuff but command was a concern and he logged only four innings in A-ball in 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022. Then Gerrit Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, was shut down because of an elbow injury shortly thereafter, opening a spot for Gil. He did not relinquish it.

Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts. He led all AL rookies in wins, innings pitched (151⅔) and strikeouts (171). His 1.82 ERA through 12 starts helped the Yankees navigate the club’s 2½ months without Cole to start the season and solidified his place in the rotation for the remainder of the season. He gave up one or fewer hits in five outings, tied for the most by a rookie since the mound was moved to 60 feet, six inches in 1893, according to ESPN Research. He didn’t giver up an earned run in six of his starts, the most by a Yankees rookie since 1913.

Gil is the 10th Yankees player to win the honor. He is the first Yankee to win it since Aaron Judge in 2017 and the first Yankees pitcher since Dave Righetti in 1981.

“He worked so hard to put himself in a strong position heading into spring training after coming back from Tommy John surgery,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in a statement. “Without a guarantee of a major-league spot, he absolutely kicked in the door this spring and went on to have a phenomenal rookie season. Luis continued to mature and develop all year and was one of the pillars of our rotation.”

Jasson Domínguez Becomes Youngest New York Yankees Player to Homer in MLB Debut

Jasson Domínguez is celebrating a smashing Major League Baseball debut…

The 20-year-old Dominican baseball player and New York Yankees player wowed everyone on Friday night, hitting a two-run homer off Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander in his first major league at-bat.

Jasson DominguezAt just 20 years, 206 days old, Domínguez became the youngest Yankees player to homer in his first game. He was the first Yankees player to go deep in his initial big league at-bat since Aaron Judge on Aug. 13, 2016.

Additionally, it was just the second time a player homered off a reigning Cy Young Award winner in his first at-bat, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The other was Marcus Thames — also for the Yankees — on June 10, 2002, off Randy Johnson.

After Domínguez swatted his opposite-field home run to the short porch in left off a three-time Cy Young Award winner twice his age, TV cameras panned to his family, who screamed and jumped around after watching the ball leave the yard for a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Four years after Yankees manager Aaron Boone saw him taking batting practice as a teenager, the highly touted prospect was a huge hit in his big league debut.

The switch-hitting outfielder and another promising youngster, catcher Austin Wells, were called up from the minors by the last-place Yankees when rosters expanded Friday.

“Everyone’s excited for them and excited to see them,” Boone said before the game. “Both [are] talented guys who earned this opportunity, and looking forward to watching them go spread their wings and continue to develop and hopefully see some good things.”

Domínguez is expected to be the team’s everyday center fielder after Harrison Bader was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds, and Boone said Wells will also play a lot over the last month of the season. They were both in the starting lineup Friday night, with Domínguez batting fifth and Wells seventh.

“When I heard the news, it was a special moment,” Domínguez said in Spanish through a translator. “Just to be here, very excited. Happy to be right here today, and it’s a special day.”

Wells is regarded more for his bat than his defense, but he’s hoping to show he can be a valuable contributor in both areas in the majors.

“I’m here to do that as well and play and help the team win,” he said. “So, that’s my goal and if I can do it in any way, I’ll do it any way.”

Expectations have been high for Domínguez since he received a $5.1 million bonus when he signed with the Yankees. His unique combination of strength and speed at such a young age earned him a catchy nickname: The Martian.

But he said he doesn’t feel any added pressure because of that.

“I haven’t really been paying too much attention to all that, all the comments and all the information about me,” he said. “I’m not much on social media. I’m not reading a lot of the different articles that are written. I just try to focus on what I can do and try to play my game and better myself so that I can fulfill whatever expectation there is being the best I can be.”

Domínguez was set to become the youngest player to appear in a game for the Yankees since 19-year-old pitcher José Rijo in July 1984 — and the youngest position player since 20-year-old outfielder Stan Javier in April 1984.

Boone is certainly aware of the expectations people have for Domínguez and believes he’ll live up to them.

“I think he’s going to be a really good player,” Boone said. “I really do. [He’s] not a finished product. And we’ll see how his journey goes. He’s obviously a very young man, super talented. I think when we look up in several years, we’re going to see a really good player in front of us and he gets to start to write that script, in the big leagues anyway, starting today.”

Domínguez joins the team after playing just nine games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. He hit .419 with two doubles and 10 RBIs there after batting .254 with 15 homers and 66 RBIs in 109 games for Double-A Somerset.

New York Yankees Preparing to Activate Top Prospect Jasson Dominguez

Jasson Dominguez is thisclose to his big league closeup…

The New York Yankees have informed the 20-year-old Dominican professional baseball outfielder, nicknamed El Marciano, that he’ll be activated on Friday, sources confirmed, in time for the team’s series against the Houston Astros.

Jasson DominguezThat would include an appearance on Sunday Night Baseball this weekend.

Dominguez, a top prospect, will be joined on the big league roster by 24-year-old catching prospect Austin Wells, ESPN sources have confirmed.

Dominguez is a switch-hitting centerfielder, someone the Yankees pursued as an amateur because of his unusual combination of power and speed.

The Yankees signed Dominguez for a $5.1 million bonus in 2019, and he has steadily moved through the organization’s farm system, generating mostly middling results against older competition.

But after a late-season promotion to Triple-A this summer, he thrived in an eight-game sample, hitting .444 with five walks and two strikeouts, clinching his ascent to the majors.

Overall, Dominguez has an .801 OPS in 117 games in Double-A and Triple-A combined, including 15 homers and 39 stolen bases (in 47 attempts).

The Yankees are in the midst of what could become their first losing season in more than 30 years, and in recent days, they have summoned some of their best prospects to the majors to play in the final weeks of the regular season.

Dominguez figures to get time in centerfield, following the Yankees’ decision to place veteran outfielder Harrison Bader on waivers; it’s expected that Bader will be claimed by a contending team on Thursday.

Wells was a first-round draft pick in 2020.

The two prospects will join a big league roster that already includes shortstop Anthony Volpe (22), infielder Oswald Peraza (23) and outfielder Everson Pereira (22).