Logan Gilbert is primed to make a leap to Cy Young contention in 2024

The Mariners are in such an enviable position. Nearly every team in baseball wants to be them when it comes to the status of their starting pitching. Everyone wants a Luis Castillo. Everyone wants a George Kirby. Everyone wants a Logan Gilbert. Shoot, every team in baseball even seems to be trying to pry away Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo from the Mariners as well. It's Logan Gilbert who we need to talk about, as he is a sneaky strong candidate for the Cy Young in 2024.

I know a lot of Mariners fans who don't even quite realize that fact. You hear Cy Young candidates and Mariners pitchers and are immediately drawn to Luis Castillo and George Kirby. It makes sense, as they were both in the top 5 in odds, each touching the top 3, in September of last season. Even for 2024, they are both in the top 8 for odds. Guess who sits at #9, though? Yup... Logan Gilbert.

Logan Gilbert is your sneaky strong candidate to win the Cy Young in 2024

It might be annoying or repetitive to hear about the top 3 of the Mariners, and how strong they all are. It should be the opposite and something that all Mariners fans pride themselves in. Logan Gilbert ends up in the shadows because of this, but he seriously needs to be considered for the Cy Young. Let's take a look at his stats over the last couple of years, and highlight what stands out.

What stands out here is how low is WHIP was in 2023, and how the K/9 and BB/9 are both going in the right direction. A big part of Cy Young candidacy is strikeouts, so if Gilbert can get up to that 9.6/9 range, it's going to make a massive perception difference to how people few him for one single reason. Getting over 200 K's just resonates differently with people. Gilbert has thrown 185.2 and 190.2 IP the last two seasons. If he gets to 188 in 2024 at 9.6/9, that's 201 strikeouts.

If 2024 ends, and Logan Gilbert puts together a line like this, there is no reason to think he won't be in serious consideration for the Cy Young.

That's 6 IPs per start, which is perfectly reasonable. So is the WHIP, as his H/9 has been consistent in his career so far. That K/9 gets him to 207 K's (6th in 2023), and the ERA would've been good for the 5th best mark in the American League last season. Add in that the Mariners should be a playoff team, and one with a great bullpen, and you are looking at a potential record of... say 15-7. Wins aren't an end-all-be-all, but they still catch people's attention.

If Logan Gilbert is sitting around the top 5 in IP, Ks, ERA, Wins, AND leading the way for the Mariners to the playoffs, it makes sense that he would have an argument for the Cy Young. All of those numbers, outside of strikeouts, are ones that he has approached or even accomplished before. Riding the Logan Gilbert bandwagon is fun. If he's the one leading the way for the Mariners this year, the rest of the American League could be in trouble.