Gilbert posts five zeros on board for Power

Logan Gilbert's professional career might have gotten off to a strange and unfortunate start due to illness, but he's looking fairly healthy on the mound now..
The sixth-ranked Seattle prospect allowed one hit and struck out nine over five innings in Class A West Virginia's 4-0 win over Lexington on Tuesday night. Gilbert hit a batter and didn't issue any walks. It marked his second scoreless start of the season after giving up two hits and a walk over four frames last Thursday against Greenville.

"It's always good to go back-to-back starts like that, have a pretty good feel for your pitches and what you could do out on the mound," he said. "A little momentum to start the season feels pretty good."
The Mariners drafted Gilbert out of Stetson with the 14th overall pick of the 2018 Draft. He signed on June 18 and was assigned to Class A Short Season Everett, but didn't pitch after being shut down for the season with a bout of mononucleosis. 
"It was pretty rough," the 21-year-old said. "It wasn't fun by any means."
Gameday box score
Gilbert was assigned to the Northwest League on June 26 and the problems began almost immediately when he started getting migraines.
The team doctor told the Florida native he had a lot of the telltale symptoms for mono and then a blood test came up positive. Suffering from severe fatigue, Gilbert was immediately sent home.
"I lost 20 pounds," he said, "I couldn't stand up."
According to the righty, the Mariners weren't planning to have him work much in his Draft year after he threw 112 1/3 innings for Stetson. But Gilbert was still dismayed at being sidelined.
"It was kind of weird, especially right after the Draft when I was excited to just get out there and play," he said. "It was kind of tough waiting and seeing all the guys you get drafted with go out there."

The recovery process took a long time as Gilbert lost a lot of weight and was completely shut down from all physical activity. He didn't get back to full strength until the end of September and was activated from the 60-day disabled list on Sept. 20. The team had a high performance camp starting up in October, and only then did Gilbert finally feel physically back to 100 percent.
The 6-foot-6 hurler was pleased to start his professional career up at Class A and he's already proved to be a powerful addition to the roster. On Tuesday, Gilbert victimized Jeison Guzman, Chase Vallot, Reed Rohlman and Jackson Lueck by whiffing each of them twice. He threw 66 pitches, 45 for strikes.
Gilbert doesn't necessarily feel like he's making up for lost time, but rather returning to the level that made him a blue-chip prospect. "Every time I go out there, I'm going to try to prove myself and give it all I've got," he said.
Fifth-ranked Mariners prospect Julio Rodriguez went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Cesar Trejo smacked a three-run homer and Onil Pena added an RBI double for West Virginia.