PEORIA, Ariz. — Over the past three seasons, Logan Gilbert has won 32 games for the Seattle Mariners.
In 2022 he was 13–6 with a 3.20 earned run average (ERA) in 32 starts. He covered 185.2 innings and gave up the highest percentage of line drives in the majors (28.9%).
In 2023, Gilbert finished with a 13-7 record. He's 26-13 in his last two seasons.
Gilbert may get overshadowed by pitchers Luis Castillo and George Kirby, but he could be an ace on many teams, and he's proven he could make a run this year for the Cy Young Award.
"For me, it's about the consistency and trying to see myself as a frontline starter around the league and you know, being somebody that we can win every time I go out there," Gilbert said.
"We have three aces, and yeah he may get overshadowed at times, he's not one for the spotlight," said Pete Woodworth, Mariners pitching coach. "I don't think that is a huge priority to him. His priority is being the best pitcher on the planet."
His fastball has been his foundation, but Gilbert has worked a lot on his slider and splitter to add to his arsenal.
"It's been a journey already in two years," Gilbert said. "It's weird it's like I was all fastball earlier, then I knew I needed to get the other stuff and then I got the other stuff and then the fastball got hit a little bit, so I'm trying to pair all of that together. But the slider and splitter has really helped out, especially last year and being able to throw it to lefties and righties helps a lot."
"To watch him work, day in and day out and to see how his work ethic and his production has evolved from Double-A, from his debut in the big leagues to you know, improving his arsenal, adding a slider, adding a splitter, like every year, it just continued to grow and grow and grow," Woodworth said. "It's been a fun process to watch, and again he is still very young. So, we're not even - we're not even seeing the top of the mountain yet."
But Gilbert thinks his team could reach the pinnacle this season with the five starting pitchers helping the cause.
"One of the best in the league, from top to bottom," Gilbert said. "It's not like we have any drop-off or whatever you want to call it. Any team going against us is going to get a really good starter, any five of us at any time."
Gilbert is expected to make his first Cactus League start on Wednesday in Peoria.