Logan's run: Nuts' Gilbert flashing ace form
It's a game that can chew up and spit out the best of players, but then there are times when an athlete makes the game look like child's play. That's the place where Logan Gilbert finds himself right now.Seattle's No. 6 prospect struck out a career-high 11 over seven innings
It's a game that can chew up and spit out the best of players, but then there are times when an athlete makes the game look like child's play. That's the place where Logan Gilbert finds himself right now.
Seattle's No. 6 prospect struck out a career-high 11 over seven innings to lead Class A Advanced Modesto past Rancho Cucamonga, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon at LoanMart Field. Gilbert's second straight scoreless outing extended his shutout streak to 14 1/3 frames going back to his first California League start on May 2 against Lancaster.
"Logan's an ultimate competitor," Nuts pitching coach Rob Marcello said. "I worked with him a bit in the offseason and saw him some during college, so I'm pretty familiar with him already. What he's done so far isn't a surprise. He's just super consistent. That's part of his makeup on and off the field and it helps him through each outing. He's always working, always trying to improve his pitching."
Gameday box score
The 22-year-old faced the minimum through six innings while registering 10 strikeouts on 67 pitches. Gilbert (2-0) surrendered a leadoff single to Marcus Chiu in the second inning, but the Quakes' third baseman was caught stealing by Modesto catcher Cal Raleigh, the Mariners' No. 13 prospect. Nursing a 1-0 lead into the seventh, Gilbert got into some trouble when third baseman Joe Rizzo, the 22nd-ranked Seattle prospect, committed a throwing error on Devin Mann's grounder and Donovan Casey singled to put runners at the corners and one out. Casey swiped second, but Gilbert fanned Chiu and retired 13th-ranked Dodgers prospectConnor Wong on a flyout to left.
"He's not going to show much emotion out there," Marcello said. "That's just not who he is. But when I made that mound visit [in the seventh], I could tell he was pumped up and knew what was needed to get out of that jam. It's a true credit to him. He's one of the hardest workers I've come across and probably one of the hardest workers in the Minors. He's always asking questions and trying to learn. For someone that probably knows the big leagues are in his future, that's an impressive thing."
The 24-pitch frame spelled the end for Gilbert, who tossed 65 of 91 pitches for strikes while completing seven innings for the first time as a professional. The Stetson product has a 1.75 ERA, a 0.81 WHIP and 53 strikeouts in 36 innings spanning seven outings between Class A West Virginia and Modesto.
"We focused all week on throwing all of his pitches for strikes," Marcello said of Gilbert's bullpen sessions. "It didn't matter what [pitch] was called for. We weren't trying to set guys up or anything. It was all about strikes. To that end, we're working hard on developing that fourth pitch for him. That changeup could be a secret weapon and I think you'll see more of it to the point where he's a legitimate four-pitch pitcher."
Standing 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Gilbert was the 14th overall pick in last year's Draft but was kept out of competitive play until this season. He began 2019 in the South Atlantic League, where he surrendered three hits and a walk while fanning 14 over nine innings in his first two pro starts. The Florida native hopes to follow in the footsteps of a pair of notable Stetson alumni in Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber of the Indians and the Mets' Jacob deGrom.
Joey Gerber locked down his fifth save over the final two innings. Seattle's No. 19 prospect allowed a hit and a walk while striking out three to complete Modesto's third shutout. Gilbert was the starting pitcher for two of those.
Connor Kopach opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the third and Matt Sanders added an insurance run with an RBI single in the eighth. Luis Liberato, Jack Larsen, Raleigh and Rizzo had two hits apiece for the Nuts.
Quakes starter Leo Crawford (0-3) yielded a run on seven hits with a season-high eight strikeouts and no walks over six innings. The 22-year-old hasn't surrendered more than a run in five straight starts after being tagged for 12 in his first three outings of 2019.
Drew Avans tallied the final hit for Rancho Cucamonga, which was blanked for the third time this year.
Michael Avallone is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @MavalloneMiLB.
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring