Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners.
Seattle Mariners pitching prospect, Logan Gilbert, is here to stay. It may have taken a little bit longer than some might have thought. However, Gilbert is showing that he deserves to be in the majors and the Mariners development plan is working.
Earlier in the year GM Jerry Dipoto informed everyone that Gilbert will be on a structured development of sorts. Every start will have a set pitch count and that number will grow with each start. Meaning, he’ll be on a set pitch count per outing and the pitch count number will grow with each start he makes. The plan being that by the time of the second half of the season he’d be major league ready as a starting pitcher.
In one of the first few Seattle Mariners starts for Gilbert, might have even been his first start, the broadcasters shared some insight from Scott Servais. Servais is a former major league catcher. His strategy when working with a rookie pitcher was to let the pitcher throw whatever pitch, he wanted. This way the pitcher would pitch with confidence because he was calling the game. Compared to the catcher asking the rookie pitcher to make Greg Maddux like pitches. That’s always hitting your spots in case you were wondering.
Knowing this and looking at Gilbert’s starts you can see this is the strategy. This is also why you see Tom Murphy catching Gilbert often. Gilbert is throwing his four-seam fastball 61.5% of the time. Which makes sense as it’s one of the first pitches any pitcher learns. A draw back to the extreme usage is that hitters are sitting and looking for it. Hitters are hitting .261 against it and missing it 21.7% of the time. However, the most important thing is that Gilbert is gaining confidence.
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners.
His second most thrown pitch is the slider, 23.8%. Opponents are struggling to hit this pitch. Batting .196 and missing it 37.3% of the time. This pitch has the potential to be deadly for hitters. Right now, it’s still a work in progress. On average it’s clocking in at 82.7mph. However, in his last start it was up to just over 86mph. For comparison, his fastball is clocked at just under 96mph, the change just under 80mph and the curveball at 75.1mph.
My colleague Joe Swenson says having a pitch that can be in between the fastball and change is something Gilbert has been lacking. Because hitters can easily recognize the speed from a fastball to anything else coming in slower. However, having something that is in between will only enhance Gilbert’s repertoire.
Circling back to Gilbert’s last outing. His slider gave all the fans a glimpse of its future devastation. He threw it the most in any of his starts. Consequently, it resulted in it’s most effectiveness. Getting hitters to chase the pitch. For example, in his outing against Cleveland, he got six outs via the slider (four via strikeout) compared to 13 outs on the fastball (three via strikeout).
With how today’s pitchers are being taught to throw, fastballs high and breaking pitches low in the zone, having another pitch he can be confident in throwing for strikes is only beneficial. Maybe the next pitch he needs to work on his curveball. Having two breaking pitches that break differently will help keep the hitters off balance more.
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners.
During Gilbert’s start against the Angels the Mariner’s TV broadcast crew brought in a special guest. They talked about Gilbert, his progress and his stuff. It’s what the guest had to say about his stuff that will be highlighted. Specifically, how might Gilbert use it better.
If you’ve watched every Gilbert start, you’ll see that he is still lacking elite major league control of his breaking pitches. Specifically, his curveball. He’s trying to get better at it but right now he just can paint the edges of the strike zone with it. Often the pitch ends up being a ball and not even getting a swing from the batter.
What this guest suggested was that since Gilbert’s curveball breaks from 12-6, he should throw it for strikes right now. Forget trying to throw it on the edge and getting hitters to chase. Just throw it in the zone. With it’s natural break it will still be a tough pitch to hit. Also, since it’s not thrown for a lot of strikes, right now, hitters will lay off it.
Obviously, once the curve starts landing for strikes hitters will start swinging at it. However, getting a strike from the curve now allows Gilbert to continue using his fastball as the main put away pitch. Right now, Gilbert needs to continue gaining experience and confidence. So, throwing his curve over the plate more will help both of those.
Right now, the M’s need Gilbert to continue making the progress he’s been making. Expected to be a front-line pitcher, he’s well on his way to becoming one. He’ll look to continue his winning streak when he takes on the Rays at home on Saturday.
Share with us your thoughts on what Logan Gilbert can do to continue to get better.