The legend continues to grow.

New York Yankees rookie phenom starting pitcher Luis Gil now leads the American League with a sparkling 2.03 ERA after his last outing against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Gil currently trails NL pitchers’ Reynaldo Lopez (1.69 ERA) and Ranger Suarez (1.77 ERA), who lead all of baseball in ERA.

Gil has been nothing short of stellar in a season that sees him return to the major leagues for the first time since Tommy John surgery in May 2022.

Through 14 starts in 2024, Gil is 9-1 with his AL-best 2.03 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and 96 strikeouts in 80 innings. As of this date, the 26-year-old Yankee sensation is a candidate to start next month’s All-Star Game for the AL. He is also in position to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award and could make a serious bid for the Cy Young Award as well.

The right-hander was somewhat of a forgotten man due to elbow surgery that sidelined him for almost two full seasons. He came to the Bronx in 2021 to make his Major League debut, and then also impressed, becoming the first Yankee rookie to record 15 consecutive scoreless innings to start a career.

In his last seven starts alone, Gil has a 6-0 record, 1.26 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 43 innings. He has been a godsend in a Yankee rotation that is missing reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, whose return is imminent. Gil also wasn’t even expected to make the big league rotation out of Spring Training until Cole went down.

Because Gil has missed so much time, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake recently told Foul Territory that the team isn’t ruling out a “timeout” on innings or a move to the bullpen at some point for their young rising star.

The hope is that Clarke Schmidt, who was sidelined for four to six weeks at the end of May due to a lats injury, can return later in the season. If this is the case, the Yankees will have more leeway in making a decision on Gil.

For now, Gil is one of the best storylines in the league this season, and as of Friday night he leads the AL in ERA.