There is the high-90s mph fastball and the sharp slider.
Both are quality pitches that have elevated Luis Gil.
But, the latest team he blanked — the Twins — believe his changeup is what has made the 26-year-old right-hander so difficult to square up so far this season.
“I think the changeup is his best pitch,” said shortstop Carlos Correa, who struck out in all three of his at-bats against Gil.
Minnesota and Correa couldn’t touch Gil on Tuesday in the Yankees’ 5-1 victory in The Bronx, mustering just a Christian Vazquez opposite-field double across six innings.
Gil did walk three, but nobody else reached against him.
He has now delivered seven consecutive starts in which he has allowed one earned run or less while pitching at least six innings, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 1.82 and improving to 8-1 on the season.
Of his 88 pitches, 28 were changeups.
Fifteen of them drew swings, and five of them misses.
Three of his six strikeouts came on the pitch.
Used in tandem with his four-seam fastball that, on average, is 5.2 mph faster, it is a difficult pitch to time.
It has sinker action on it with late movement, according to Twins first baseman Jose Miranda.
Gil has thrown the pitch 296 times this year and given up eight hits on it, per Baseball Savant.
“You can cover the fastball, but the changeup off of it is two different swings,” Correa said. “One, you have to stay on top; the other, you have to stay inside and scoop. And they come out of the same tunnel. It’s pretty good.”
Ironically, Gil was once a Twin, signing with them as an international free agent nearly a decade ago in 2015.
In March of 2018, they sent him to the Yankees in exchange for Jake Cave.
Six years and one Tommy John surgery later, Gil shut down his former organization, and may be in line to start the All-Star Game if his current success continues.
“Gil is great. He’s got very good stuff and he’s going to be tough,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s hard not to initially look at the size of him on the mound and he’s got a very good arm. You see a lot of good stuff in the game — he’s better than most.
“When you have stuff like that and you command the ball pretty well, it’s a nice combination.”
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