SAL notes: Gilbert quickly finds his groove

It didn't take long for Logan Gilbert to experience frustration in professional baseball.
Last June, the right-hander was the first-round pick of the Seattle Mariners, nabbed with the 14th overall selection. He had emerged as one of the premier pitchers in college baseball during his three seasons at Stetson University and was itching to make the jump to the game's next level.

Gilbert traveled to Seattle to sign his contract and began experiencing migraine headaches. Doctors determined he was battling a bout of mononucleosis, an illness he had likely contracted during the college season. Rest was prescribed, along with minor toe surgery, both of which delayed the start to the pitcher's pro career.
"It was definitely frustrating," Gilbert said. "I was anxious about everything that had been going on with the Draft and wanted to get out there and pitch. Then to get shut down for something like mono was tough. I had to be a little more patient than I wanted to be, but it all worked out eventually."

Last summer marked the first time in several years that Gilbert's momentum had slowed. A catcher and corner infielder as an underclassman at Wekiva High School in Apopka, Florida, the 6-foot-6 righty did not make the move to the mound until the latter part of his prep career. Gilbert admits he "was a little behind the pack" compared to other pitchers upon graduating from Wekiva. As a result, he was not drafted out of high school and attracted interest mostly from smaller Division I programs and a few Ivy League schools before narrowing his choices to Stetson and Wofford.
Possessing solid arm strength, Gilbert arrived at Stetson as more of a thrower than a pitcher. With the help of Hatters pitching coach Dave Therneau, he made tremendous strides with the feel for his breaking ball while learning how to hold base runners and what to throw in certain counts. He posted a 2-1 record with a 2.74 ERA in 21 games, mostly as a reliever his freshman year before moving to the weekend rotation as a sophomore.
By the end of his junior campaign, he owned a career mark of 23-3 with a 2.48 ERA and averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Gilbert also became the first player in Atlantic Sun history to win back-to-back Pitcher of the Year honors. His performance helped guide the Hatters to a 48-13 record and advance to the Chapel Hill Super Regional in 2018.
"You try not to pay much attention to it, but at the same time you can't lie and say there's no pressure," said Gilbert of his junior campaign. "People were looking for us to have a good season, and I was expected to have a good year. But once the games started, everything was back to normal. I feel fortunate that everything worked out as well as it did, because we were able to put together one of the best seasons in Stetson history."
Gilbert's absence from the mound last summer has done little to hinder his progress this spring. He allowed two hits and a walk with five strikeouts in four innings during his professional debut at Greenville on April 4. Five days later he earned his first victory by limiting Lexington to one hit with nine whiffs over five frames. After giving up two hits and an earned run in five innings versus Lakewood on April 15, he walked the first batter he faced on April 20 before retiring the next nine Asheville batters, including six via strikeouts, before rain forced the game to be suspended in the fourth.
At this point, Gilbert, who will celebrate his 22nd birthday on May 5, is focused on getting into a rhythm and adjusting to life in professional baseball. He's also looking to improve his ability to throw different pitches in various counts while fine-tuning some minor aspects of his mechanics.
"Every lineup has a lot of good hitters, and it's a challenge to go out there and try to make improvements every time I take the mound," Gilbert said. "Everything has been great so far. I'm loving the season and loving my team. After what happened last year, I feel like I have a lot of momentum now."

In brief

Drive honor Jenson: Ed Jenson, who served as the Greenville Drive's play-by-play broadcaster from 2006 until stepping down just prior to the start of the 2019 season due to a long illness, died April 23 at the age of 69. The team will honor Jenson by wearing uniform patches with EJ and a retro microphone and have a celebration of his life at Fluor Field on May 3. The Drive will also rename the ballpark's press box in Jenson's honor.
Rodriguez rolling: Delmarva righthander Grayson Rodriguez, the 11th overall pick in the 2018 Draft, has been the most dominant pitcher during the first month of the SAL season. In his first three starts, the 19-year-old Rodriguez was 3-0 with a 0.54 ERA and struck out 28 batters in 16 2/3 innings. He allowed only seven hits and six walks, resulting in a WHIP of 0.74.
Harrison hot: Suns first baseman KJ Harrison had six multi-hit games in his first 13 outings this season, including a 4-for-4 performance at Kannapolis on April 19. The Oregon State product notched eight doubles and two home runs among his 21 hits with 15 RBIs and 10 runs scored. He led the league in batting average and owned a slash line of .438/.500/.729 for a ridiculous OPS of 1.229 through April 23.