One is a two-time All-Star whose move to the Mariners has proven to be one of the best pickups of last year’s Trade Deadline. The other won the American League Cy Young Award the season before he joined Seattle.
In the midst of Gilbert’s first full Spring Training working alongside those top Major League arms, the 25-year-old right-hander is cognizant of how beneficial it is to have them as examples to learn from on a daily basis.
“I learn a ton from those guys,” Gilbert said after the Mariners’ 2-2 tie with the Dodgers on Wednesday night at Camelback Ranch. “They’re great, to set the example and follow in their footsteps. Going into my third year now, I’m trying to be one of those guys.
“I want to play here as long as possible and be someone that the team can count on. So I see myself like that, and hopefully, I’d love for my career to go the way theirs are going. They’re doing something right.”
In his second Cactus League start, Gilbert tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two. With the caveat that results aren’t as important as the work in Spring Training, his outing was a considerable improvement over his spring debut last Thursday against the Padres.
Gilbert didn’t make it out of the second inning in that first start against a loaded San Diego lineup, giving up three runs and walking two batters in 1 2/3 frames. He fared far better against the Dodgers’ lineup, albeit one that was missing several key contributors due to the World Baseball Classic.
“I thought Logan tonight was really good,” said manager Scott Servais. “He threw a couple split fingers, got a strikeout on a split. The fastball was up to 97 [mph]. That’s Logan Gilbert. … Fastball had really good life tonight, and he got all of his pitches working. So keep building on that one, and we’ll go from there.”
Though Gilbert will likely be the No. 3 starter for the Mariners, a team with much higher aspirations entering this season, his focus is on how he can be most valuable when it’s his turn on the mound.
“[I’m] just building that intensity, building the innings,” Gilbert said. “I think we did a pretty good job mixing it up tonight and trying out different looks. Behind in the count, ahead in the count — different things that I’ll hopefully be able to do this season and try to be a little more unpredictable.”
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