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What do the Yankees do for a #5 spot in the rotation is it Gil”s to lose? -- @Jaudon_Michael

Ah, a good old fashioned baseball question. No CBA, no hot stove rumors, just ball. Love it. Let’s dig into Luis Gil, a very interesting pitcher for the Yankees this year, and his place in the rotation.

When Gil arrived in the majors in August, I asked several scouts who covered the Yanks’ system if they projected him as a starter or reliever. The results were split but leaned toward starter, provided Gil continued to develop his changeup until it becomes a third big-league pitch.

I asked Gil about it, too.

“The changeup is a pitch that I worked on in the offseason,” he said in August. “It’s a pitch that I’ve been working on and developing. I’ve gotten a lot of confidence in using that pitch, even 3-1 I can execute a changeup. Definitely feel comfortable with it, but I know that there’s more work ahead with that pitch.”

As it stands today, Gil has a firm fastball with work remaining to be done on his command of it, specifically in harnessing its natural cutting action. He has a plus slider, and a changeup that needs work.

But checking back in with evaluators who watched him in the big leagues late last season, I gathered a sense of optimism that the changeup would continue to improve, perhaps along with his command of the fastball. Some scouts see a chance for Gil to be an impact starter by midseason.

It is too early to handicap a spring training rotation race, but if you look at the Yankees’ current group, Gil has a chance to break camp with a job there, especially since Jameson Taillon is a bit behind after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.

Plenty of evaluators see Domingo German as an impact reliever. Same with Michael King. Nestor Cortes is probably best utilized as a jack-of-all-trades swingman. Clarke Schmidt can still emerge as a rotation option.

Of all these names, Gil might be the one with the highest ceiling in a starting role. He’s not there yet, but folks with sharper eyes than mine forecast that his growth could happen quickly.

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