The anticipated MLB debut of Seattle Mariners prospect Logan Gilbert has arrived. The rookie right-hander from Winter Park, Fla., has the makings of a future star

By Joe Frisaro @ManOn2nd

From the school that produced Corey Kluber and Jacob deGrom, another former Stetson University sensation is now entering the big leagues.

Seattle Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert is making his MLB debut on Thursday night against the Cleveland Indians.

If you’re not familiar with Gilbert, you’re about to be, because MO2 is all in on the 24-year-old rookie. We’ve done our homework on Gilbert, and talked with those in the industry who have tracked the right-hander for years.

The 14th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, Gilbert is listed at 6-foot-6, 225-pounds. He attended Wekiva High School in Apopka, Fla., and was considered an under-the-radar prep talent. Then his fastball was between 87-93 mph, and his breaking pitches were considered below average. In fact, there were questions if he could spin the ball enough to be a legitimate Division 1 pitcher.

Gilbert was relatively unknown then. He didn’t have a player profile on Perfect Game, which was rare, and there wasn’t much, if any, video of him on YouTube.

What he did have was good size, and he was athletic. He also had an excellent pickoff move, and he threw fastballs for strikes. Opposing batters also struggled hitting his fastball.

The one school in on Gilbert was Stetson, which is no stranger to developing quality pitchers. Their two most famous big leaguers are Kluber and deGrom, who have combined to win four Cy Young Awards (two each).

Enter Gilbert, who quickly became a college standout. By his sophomore season, he was on the radar of all the big league clubs. In his junior, and final year, the San Francisco Giants (picking second) and Atlanta Braves (picking eighth), went as far as buying front row season tickets at Stetson to have prime seats to scout Gilbert.

The Giants ultimately went with catcher Joey Bart, and the Braves selected right-hander Carter Stewart, who didn’t sign with Atlanta.

After the Miami Marlins selected outfielder Connor Scott with the 13th pick, the Mariners took Gilbert at 14.

Gilbert’s stock dropped a bit in 2018 due to a decrease in velocity, which varied from 89-93 mph depending on the day. Mostly, he sat at 91-92 mph, after consistently being in the 90-94 mph range as a sophomore, while occasionally touching 96 mph.

It was later revealed Gilbert was hindered by a bout of mono, which he kept hidden from the baseball industry.

Just looking at the fastball readings, 90-94 mph doesn’t particularly stand out. But what the industry quickly picked up on was the fact Gilbert also has great extension, which enables his pitches to play up. His plus extension on all of his pitches has insiders comparing Gilbert to Tyler Glasnow and Aaron Nola.

In 2018, TrackMan (the data provider to Statcast) was introduced to college ballparks.

Once analytics departments saw Gilbert’s extension readings (7-feet, 1-inch), the right-handers stock began to rise.

At a workout for clubs about a week before the 2018 Draft, Gilbert’s fastball was at 94 mph, which eased some concerns on velocity.

Now, Gilbert is the Mariners No. 4 ranked prospect, and he’s ranked 28th overall on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list.

As Gilbert’s big league career is about to begin, a couple of other Stetson pitchers are currently performing at other Minor League affiliates. Brooks Wilson, a seventh-round pick in 2018 by the Atlanta Braves, is at Double-A. And Robbie Peto, a non-Drafted signing for $20,000 in 2020, is at low A Ball in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ system.