Will Logan Gilbert Be the Mariners New Ace In the Near Future?

Mariners first-round pick Logan Gilbert made his debut season in 2019. He is considered the Mariners number three prospect.

Gilbert started 2019, his first full season with the Mariners, at low-level A West Virginia for the first month where he started five games with an ERA of 1.59 in 22.2 innings walking only six batters while striking out 36 batters. On May 1, he was promoted to High-A Modesto where he stayed until July 15.

At Modesto, he had a fine time, starting 12 games with an ERA of 1.73 in 60.1 innings, walking 12 and striking out 73. At Arkansas, Logan Gilbert wasn’t as dominated as he was in either West Virginia or Modesto. However, he did better than most pitchers, especially in their first season in professional ball. He started nine games for Arkansas, going 50 innings while walking 15 batters and striking out 56 with an ERA of 2.88.

This coming season, Gilbert may start with Arkansas or be promoted to triple-A Tacoma. However, there is little doubt he will be in Seattle at some point during the season. The Mariners haven’t had a pitcher in their rotation like this since Felix Hernandez came up at the age of 19.

Some may have called Paxton the ace of the Mariners, but was he truly the number one starter we would consider in the rotation? In 2017 he had a record of 12-5 in 24 starts with an ERA of 2.98. The problem Paxton had was staying healthy for a whole season. If Paxton stayed with the Mariners, he may have ended up as the ace.

The last two years. Marco Gonzales had more wins then Paxton has had going 13-9 in 2018 and 16-13 in 2019. In both seasons his ERA was 4.00 and 3.99. He to was the Mariners top starter but no one would consider him an ace. On most teams, he would be probably a third starter at best.

Another candidate to be the ace of the starting rotation in a few years is last year’s number one draft choice, George Kirby. He is ranked as the Mariners #6 prospect; however, he could move up the list. In eight starts at rookie ball Everett last summer, he didn’t walk a single batter.  It would not be a surprise if Kirby is similar to Gilbert where he will go up several levels of minor league ball this coming season.

We will get to see both in the big camp during spring training. So this will allow us to see what future lies ahead for the two of them. We could see them as one a and one b in the rotation at some point.

It would not surprise me if the Mariners will sign or trade for another pitcher that could be an Ace before Gilbert and Kirby are ready to move up the chain. The Mariners are showing when the rebuilt is completed they will have a solid rotation along with position players especially in the outfield set to go.

We should be excited to see the future going ahead this spring unfolding for the playoffs to become a regular occasion. How soon the Mariners win a World Series ring is hard to say right now. It will be nice to see T-Mobile Park be filled on a regular basis. Go M’s.