Logan Gilbert: Seattle Mariners Fantasy Baseball Advice for 2023

Yahoo 33. Fantasy Pros 34. Dynasty 24. ESPN 31

Starting Pitching is always the weirdest position to watch in fantasy baseball drafts. It's important to have guys that you can trust, so when they start coming off the board, they tend to do so in bunches. The question becomes, which bunch will Logan Gilbert fit in?

Looking around, you can see that most places have similar thoughts when it comes to Gilbert. Coming off a strong 2022 that saw him finish with better real-life numbers as opposed to fantasy numbers, Gilbert is primed and expected to put up another strong season. He was 39th last year (in Yahoo) but projects a bit higher in 2023.

39th may sound a bit low, but there is a massive grouping of guys who are ranked really close to each other. 15-20 more K's, another win, or a .05 lower WHIP could move you 10-15 spots. It does show the strength of pitching that 13 Ws, 185 IP, 174 Ks, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP puts you about 40th in SP rankings.

This year, he's expected to sit somewhere in the low 30s. I like using FantasyPros for my rankings, as they have a lot of good information in there, and usually seem to be pretty accurate. Fantasy Pros has him at 34, Yahoo at 33, and ESPN at 31, so everyone is pretty close. He seems to be going right around 100th also, meaning the 10th round in a 10-team league, but around the turn of the 8th/9th round in a 12-team league.

However, as I mentioned before, SPs go in groups. There is a group of Valdez, Musgrove, Javier, and Gallen that goes around 70. Gilbert isn't going with them, and until he shows more K's or a lower ERA/WHIP, probably shouldn't. Then there is Glasnow, Robbie Ray, and McKenzie. I don't think he goes there either, because of their potential for nastiness or a lot of K's.

It's the next group to watch for Gilbert. Cortes, Webb, Severino, Wright, Snell, Kershaw. If you see those names and want Gilbert, pull the trigger immediately. If you think he's going to continue to get better, grab him when Robbie Ray and Triston McKenzie go. Also, be wary that in a draft with Mariners fans, he might go right around that Gallen group I mentioned first. Walter can be nasty, and if that splitfinger is going to play this year, he could find himself jumping to 10 K/9 or so... which would be those extra 15-20 K's I brought up earlier.

Logan Gilbert isn't going to lead your fantasy baseball rotation, but he can definitely be a strong part of it. If he ends up as your #3 SP, you're probably in a pretty good spot for 2023.