Luis Gil won the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year Award on November 18, 2024, edging Baltimore's Colton Cowser 106 points to 101. He went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 29 starts, and he became the first New York Yankees pitcher to win the award since Dave Righetti in 1981.
Five points. That's it. Gil got 15 first-place votes, Cowser got 13, and the only AL race tighter since the writers went to a three-man ballot in 1980 was the 2003 one that Hideki Matsui lost to Angel Berroa, 88-84. (So the Yankees finally got one of these coin flips back. Took 21 years.)
Nobody Penciled Him In
Here's the thing people forget: Gil wasn't supposed to be in the rotation. The club had already sent him to minor league camp in March. He was a 25-year-old coming off Tommy John surgery who'd thrown only 29.1 big-league innings in 2021 before his elbow gave out.
Then Gerrit Cole's elbow started barking. Nerve inflammation, no pitching until June, and suddenly the reigning Cy Young winner's spot was open. Gil had a 2.87 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 15.2 spring innings, and on March 24 Aaron Boone named him the No. 5 starter.
That's a guy walking through a door somebody else left open. What he did next was different.
May Was Ridiculous
Gil went 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA in six May starts. He threw at least six innings every time out and never gave up more than one run. MLB named him AL Pitcher of the Month and AL Rookie of the Month on the same day, which I'm pretty sure isn't a thing that happens to your fifth starter.
The signature night came May 18 against the White Sox. Gil struck out seven in a row starting in the fourth and finished with 14 in six innings of a 6-1 win. That broke the Yankees rookie record of 13, set by Orlando Hernandez in 1998. El Duque threw out the ceremonial first pitch that day. You can't write it better than that, so I won't try.
Then He Was a Rookie Again
June got ugly. A couple of rough outings in the middle of the month wrecked his ERA, and ESPN ran a piece asking whether he'd hit a wall. Fair question. Gil had barely pitched in three years, and by midseason he'd already piled up more innings than the brass had any real track record to plan around.
The walks never went away, either. Gil's 77 free passes led the American League, and his 1.19 WHIP tells you the hits side stayed stingy enough (104 in 151.2 innings) to make it work. A lower back strain cost him a little over two weeks in late August. He came back September 6 at Wrigley and finished the regular season at 15-7, 3.50.
So yes, the Rookie of the Year led the league in walks. I don't hold it against him. Honestly, it made every start more interesting.
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.
October and the Vote
Gil started Game 4 of the World Series against the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman took him deep for two runs in the first, and then Anthony Volpe's grand slam flipped the night. The Yankees won 11-4. It was their only win of the series.
A few weeks later, the writers handed Gil the trophy. Teammate Austin Wells finished third with 17 points. Gil became the 10th Yankee to win the award (no AL club has more) and the first since Aaron Judge's 2017 rookie season. The only other Yankees pitchers on the list are Bob Grim, Stan Bahnsen, and Righetti, whose 1981 win had been the last one by a Yankees pitcher for 43 years.
The Part Nobody Likes Talking About
The follow-up hasn't gone the way anybody hoped. A high-grade lat strain in spring 2025 kept Gil out until August, and he posted a 3.32 ERA in 11 starts with a lot more walks than you'd like. In April 2026 the club optioned him to Triple-A after four starts, and a shoulder issue shut him down that May.
None of that changes what 2024 was. A guy with no rotation spot in March kicked in the door, won six straight starts in May, and beat out Cowser by five points. The Yankees got him from Minnesota in 2018 for Jake Cave. Nobody's asking for that one back.
| Award | 2024 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year |
| Announced | Monday, November 18, 2024 |
| Vote | Gil 106 (15 first), Cowser 101 (13 first), Wells 17 |
| Record / ERA | 15-7, 3.50 |
| Starts / Innings | 29 GS, 151.2 IP |
| Strikeouts / Walks | 171 K, 77 BB (led AL) |
| Hits / WHIP | 104 H, 1.19 WHIP |
| May 2024 | 6-0, 0.70 ERA; AL Pitcher and Rookie of the Month |
| Best Game | 14 K vs. White Sox, May 18 (Yankees rookie record) |
The Jake Cave Trade
Four days after designating outfielder Jake Cave for assignment, the Yankees trade him to Minnesota for 19-year-old right-hander Luis Gil.
Big-League Debut
Filling in for a COVID-sidelined Gerrit Cole, Gil throws six scoreless innings against Baltimore in a 13-1 win. He opens his career with 18.2 straight scoreless innings, a franchise record.
Tommy John
The Yankees announce Gil needs Tommy John surgery after he hurts his elbow in a Triple-A start.
The No. 5 Starter
With Cole down with elbow nerve inflammation, Boone names Gil to the Opening Day rotation.
Fourteen
Gil strikes out 14 White Sox in six innings of a 6-1 win, breaking El Duque's Yankees rookie record. He finishes May 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA.
World Series Game 4
Gil starts at the Stadium. Volpe's grand slam carries the Yankees to an 11-4 win, their only victory against the Dodgers.
Rookie of the Year
Gil beats Colton Cowser 106-101 and becomes the first Yankees pitcher to win the award since Dave Righetti in 1981.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year?
Yankees right-hander Luis Gil. He got 15 first-place votes and 106 points, beating Baltimore outfielder Colton Cowser (13 first-place votes, 101 points). Yankees catcher Austin Wells finished third with 17 points.
How close was the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year vote?
Five points, 106 to 101. Since the BBWAA moved to a three-player ballot in 1980, the only closer AL race was 2003, when Angel Berroa beat Hideki Matsui 88-84.
What were Luis Gil's stats in 2024?
Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts. He threw 151.2 innings, struck out 171, walked an AL-high 77, and allowed 104 hits for a 1.19 WHIP. He went 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA in May.
Who was the last Yankees pitcher to win Rookie of the Year before Luis Gil?
Dave Righetti in 1981. Gil ended a 43-year gap for Yankees pitchers. The last Yankee of any kind to win it before Gil was Aaron Judge in 2017.
How did the Yankees get Luis Gil?
They traded outfielder Jake Cave to the Minnesota Twins for him on March 16, 2018, a few days after designating Cave for assignment. Gil was a 19-year-old minor leaguer at the time.