LOGAN GILBERT

Pitcher | 6-foot-6, 225 pounds | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 22

Mariners prospect ranking: No. 3 (MLB Pipeline), No. 4 (Baseball America)

Path to Peoria: Drafted in the first round (No. 14 overall) by the Mariners in 2018 out of Florida’s Stetson University. Was shut down with a case of mono in 2018 and didn’t play short-season ball. Ripped through three levels of the minors his first professional season in 2019, opening with Low-A West Virginia and ending with Double-A Arkansas. This is his first major league camp invite.

Projected debut year: 2020

Scouting report: Gilbert has a solid mix of four pitches — fastball, curveball, slider, changeup — and can throw them all for strikes. His maturity was on display in his first Cactus League start last week, when he worked through two scoreless innings allowing one infield hit and striking out one on 29 pitches. His heater reached as high as 95 mph. A few erratic breaking balls aside, Gilbert looked like a starter refined enough to pitch in Seattle sometime this summer, which is when the Mariners expect to see him. He likely starts the season back in Arkansas, but has the potential to rise quickly, and certainly seems primed to be a longtime anchor in Seattle’s rotation once he makes it to the big leagues.

By the numbers: Gilbert ranked third among all minor league pitchers in 2019 in ERA (2.13), fifth in opponent batting average (.198) and tied for seventh in strikeouts (165).

Quotable: On his first Cactus League start against the Giants — “There are some good hitters over there, like any team we’re going to face, and I feel like I have the stuff to compete with them. Really confident in myself and feel like I can go toe-to-toe with anybody. That’s how I feel in my mind.”

MARINERS FACES OF THE FUTURE

Logan Gilbert was a heavy traveler in 2019.

Ready to begin his professional baseball career months after the Seattle Mariners drafted him in the first round, he made the trek to Arizona last spring to compete in minor league camp.

From there, he made his way to West Virginia, and was named the Opening Day pitcher for the Power, Seattle’s Low-A affiliate. He pitched five games at that level before he was promoted.

Gilbert joined High-A Modesto the first week of May, and spent about two months in the California League, making 12 more starts.

He was promoted again midway through July, and made his final nine starts of the season with Double-A Arkansas.

Add in all the road trips he went on at each of the three stops, and Gilbert really racked up some mileage.

How did the Mariners’ top pitching prospect rise so quickly after he was shut down following the draft in 2018 with mono?

“There are certain things that stick out,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Obviously, his delivery. He does get down the mound and it gets on the hitter. He does have the ability to use his fastball in very effective parts of the strike zone. He can really ride the ball up. That’s going to be his calling card just seeing how he does it.

“You hear the stories, you watch the video and you kind of see it with your own eyes and say, ‘OK this is how it all works. This is how it comes together.’ “

Gilbert is just 22 years old, but at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, the physically imposing right-hander already looks looks like a big leaguer.

And he already pitches like a player not far away from baseball’s biggest stage.

Gilbert was named both a California League and Texas League All-Star last season after posting a 10-5 record and 2.13 ERA at his three minor league stops across 26 starts, striking out a combined 165 batters while walking 33.

His first start in a Mariners uniform last week in a Cactus League game against San Francisco was more of the same — two scoreless innings, allowing one infield hit, and striking out a batter on an efficient 29 pitches.

“You can see how he’s come along,” Servais said following that start. “A lot of confidence. Really good fastball, got the breaking ball over the plate, that was good to see. ... He’s got all four pitches, he really does.

“That fastball gets on the hitters, curveball’s got a good feel, good slider and he threw a decent changeup today, too, so he’s got what you’re looking for in a young starting pitcher.”

Servais describes Gilbert as cerebral, smart and very talented. When evaluating his first outing, Gilbert said he felt confident he could go “toe-to-toe with anybody.”

“That’s how I feel in my mind,” he said.

Though he will start his season in the minors, Gilbert will get more opportunities to face major league hitters as camp progresses, and said he wants to use this time in big league camp to continue to boost his confidence.

Servais wants it to help Gilbert get his adrenaline going for another successful season.

“He’s going to know some of these hitters on the other teams, the guys that he’s followed in the game and whatnot,” Servais said. “That’s great. That’s what spring training is for, for young players. We’ve certainly got a lot of them here. Logan will get a lot out of this camp.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 7:00 AM.

Lauren Smith

The News Tribune

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Lauren Smith is a sports reporter at The News Tribune. She has covered high school sports for TNT and The Olympian, as well as the Seattle Mariners and Washington Huskies. She is a graduate of UW and Emerald Ridge High School.