He has a fastball in the high 90s mph and a sharp slider.
Both are quality pitches that have improved Luis Gil.
But the Twins, the team he last held scoreless, believe his changeup has been the reason they’ve had trouble hitting the 26-year-old right-hander so far this season.
“I think the changeup is his best pitch,” said shortstop Carlos Correa, who struck out in all three at-bats against Gil.
Minnesota and Correa couldn’t get past Gil in the Yankees’ 5-1 win in the Bronx on Tuesday, managing only a Christian Vazquez double up the wrong side of six innings.
Gill walked three batters, but no one else reached base against him.
He has now pitched six or more innings in seven straight games allowing one run or less, lowering his ERA to a paltry 1.82 and improving to 8-1 on the season.
Of his 88 pitches, 28 were changeups.
Of those, 15 were strikeouts and five were misses.
Three of his six strikeouts came while pitching.
It is a difficult pitch to time because it is thrown in conjunction with a four-seam fastball that averages 5.2 mph faster.
According to Twins first baseman Jose Miranda, the ball has a slow-moving sinker action.
According to Baseball Savant, Gill has thrown the pitch 296 times this year and allowed eight hits.
“You can cover the fastball, but the changeup is two different swings,” Correa said. “One you’ve got to stay on top. The other one you’ve got to stay inside and scoop. And they come out of the same tunnel, which is pretty good.”
Ironically, Gill was once a member of the Twins, signing with them as an international free agent in 2015, nearly 10 years ago.
In March 2018, the team traded him to the Yankees for Jake Cave.
Six years and a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Gill is closing out his former organization and could be in the starting lineup for the All-Star Game if his current success continues.
“Gil is great. He’s got a lot of talent and he’s going to be a tough pitcher,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You can’t help but look at his build on the mound and he’s got a really good arm. You see a lot of talent in the game. He’s better than most guys.”
“When you have that stuff and you control the ball well, it’s a good combination.”
