Seattle Mariners 2021 Grades: Part 4 – Starting Pitchers
Logan Gilbert
Overall: C-
The 24-year-old Mariners’ top starting pitching prospect got his call up on May 13, 2021. Seattle selected Logan Gilbert 14th overall in the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft. He was brought along slowly through the M’s farm system, and that continued when he reached the big club.
His first half was good, not great, with a 3-2 record and 3.51 ERA in 10 starts. His second half didn’t go as smoothly, and Gilbert was hit hard at times despite no difference in velocity.
Control: B
One of the key stats to look at when analyzing control is WHIP. The combination of walks and hits and can demonstrate control in the zone as well. In the second half, Gilbert left too many pitches in the red zone. Hitters crushed those baseballs leading to some early departures. His walks, however, remained the same in both halves.
Dominance: B-
At times the rookie looked utterly dominant and finished with 128 strikeouts (second on the team) in only 119.1 innings. But throughout the season, he couldn’t get deep into games. In the beginning, it was because of pitch limits placed on him.
Once they raised his ceiling, Gilbert struggled facing batters his third time through the order. In those at-bats, he had a .866 OPS against him. In fact, the sixth inning was his worst, and he would rarely get out of it unscathed.
Intangibles: TBD
He’s young and clearly has the tools and pitches to be successful at the Major League level. But it’s too early to figure out what grade to give him. After a full season, we’ll see where he falls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdEx1dbTauw