If you missed most of Spring Training (which I totally understand), you may have missed appearance in Spring Training. He got a decent look in North Port, sticking around until March 11th. That was enough time to be noticed and to hit home runs on consecutive days. This one was a laser shot, coming off the bat at 109.7 MPH. The other may have been wind assisted. But with a 98.7 MPH exit velocity and 24 degree launch angle, it was no joke either. He must have had a great offseason.
The power display
was definitely a fun surprise, because as Matt Powers noted in the fall:
Power isn’t a big part of his game, but he actually showed some growth there towards the end of the season. Gil’s slugging percentage was just .271 in April, .383 in May, .244 in June, and .342 in July. Then it was like a light clicked for him at the end of July. Gil got injured on July 10th, and didn’t return until July 24th in the FCL. He made his way back to Augusta on the 26th of July and over his final 30 games of the season he slugged .577 with 10 doubles, one triple, and six of his homers. Those numbers are especially promising when you consider that in his first 71 games he managed 15 doubles, no triples, and one homer.
Gil put up a 1.000 OPS and a 186 wRC+ in Augusta from July 26th through September 7th. Something definitely clicked for him in complex ball. He seems to have a small but noticeable change in the batter box. Have a look at this plate appearance from Thursday night.
And check this out from May 2025.
It’s quick but John seems to be pointed away from the plate earlier in the year. Now he’s pretty much waiting right on top of the plate. He’s appears less intimidated now. He may have good reason not to be. He can really turn on the ball.
So when will John Gil leave Single-A ball for good? Single-A players typically have only a faint idea of the strike zone, and so do the pitchers. Gil pretty good in this respect, striking out 14.5 percent of the time last year. Though, I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to move Gil to the Double-A Southern League. The Southern League has a tendency to sap power. I would rather be John be rewarded with dingers. But he kinda has the makings of a prospect that has found his bearing in professional baseball and ready to tear up the levels.
