Jerry Gil to be converted to pitcher

[OesterPoster]

Some notes from a Mark Sheldon article last year:

A couple of years ago while Gil was fooling around in the D-backs bullpen, the radar gun offered more evidence of how powerful his arm was.

"I threw one 96 miles per hour, just one pitch," Gil said.

A right knee injury suffered while back in Double-A during 2005 required surgery, and Gil spent most of the season on the disabled list. In 2006, he was one of Arizona's final Spring Training cuts as the team began grooming former top draft pick Stephen Drew.

The Diamondbacks wanted to take advantage of Gil's arm strength and began using him in the outfield for 100 games at Double-A Tennessee. He also saw action at second and third base.

When he was growing up in San Pedro de Macoris, which has its place on the baseball map as a factory of Major League infielders, Gil was more interested in becoming a big-league pitcher. But his uncle, former Reds pitcher Josias Manzanillo, had other ideas.

[JayBruceFan]

They need to do this with OF Denis Phipps also

[reds44]

He can throw it over the CF wall from home plate, so why not. Don't see how this could hurt, it's not like he was ever going to make it as a hitter.

[dougdirt]

They need to do this with OF Denis Phipps also

I would give Phipps a few more years. He has a toolbox thats full, but hasn't had a long time to unlock it. He only has been playing baseball for 5 years now.

[klw]

He can throw it over the CF wall from home plate, so why not. Don't see how this could hurt, it's not like he was ever going to make it as a hitter.

Ah yes but can he throw it over home plate from the pitcher's mound?

[princeton]

They need to do this with OF Denis Phipps also

Paul Janish throws very hard...

[BRM]

How hard does Stubbs throw?

[flyer85]

How hard does Stubbs throw?

probably hard enough to throw a fastball by his bat.

[dougdirt]

probably hard enough to throw a fastball by his bat.

So you are saying that he runs fast enough to throw a pitch, run to the plate and still swing and miss?

[klw]

So you are saying that he runs fast enough to throw a pitch, run to the plate and still swing and miss?

Thats down-right Coombsian!

[icehole3]

it was said that Cool Papa Bell could turn out the light and make in bed before it got dark, he was that fast.

[OnBaseMachine]

Gil to give it a go as pitcher for Reds
Prospect turns attention away from batting, focuses on future
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

HOUSTON -- Whether he was at shortstop or the outfield, the Reds have long loved Jerry Gil's throwing arm. His inability to hit has kept him from reaching the Majors.

In an "if you can't beat 'em, join them" type of decision, Gil has turned in his bat to try to become a pitcher. He's been throwing with the Gulf Coast League Reds at the lowest rung of the Minors for about three weeks.

"He's pitching now because of that slider," said Reds manager Dusty Baker, referring to the pitch Gil couldn't hit. "He'll make someone else's life miserable. They say he can throw 94-95 mph."

Baker was one of those impressed with Gil's defensive skills during his Spring Training at big league camp. But this season in 47 combined games at Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, Gil was batting .168 with four homers and 24 RBIs. He missed most of last season because he had reconstructive elbow surgery and appeared in one big league game as a pinch-runner.

In 2004, Gil appeared in 29 big league games with Arizona. He was traded to the Reds for Minor League pitcher Abe Woody in October 2006.

"Jerry came to [Louisville manager] Rick Sweet and said he had lost confidence in hitting," Reds Minor League director Terry Reynolds said. "Knowing he had a good arm, he wanted to try pitching. We thought it was worth the time for him to give it a try."

Gil has had two appearances with the GCL team, totaling 1 1/3 innings. His first outing was scoreless but he gave up three earned runs, three hits and two walks in his second game on Wednesday.

The organization is more focused on Gil learning the mechanics of pitching and building arm strength.

"The hope is that at some point before the summer ends, he will be with one of the full season teams," Reynolds said.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin