Stetson has produced two of the top pitchers in baseball in right-handers Jacob deGrom and Corey Kluber in the last 10 years.
The mid-major program could have another well-regarded pitcher selected in June’s 2018 MLB First-Year Draft. MLB.com ranks Stetson right-handed pitcher Logan Gilbert as the 16th-best prospect in this year’s draft class.
“I think if I go out there and help me team out on the mound, things will take care of itself,” Gilbert said. “I’m very fortunate to be in the position I am in and have the talent that God blessed me with.”
Gilbert chose Stetson over multiple schools, including Florida and Wake Forest due to the program’s ability to develop pitching.
“To produce guys like that, it lets you know that you can go to a school like Stetson and make it to the big time,” he said. “That was the goal going in. Hopefully one day I’ll be where they are.”
Coming out of high school, every major league team passed on the Apopka, Fla. native in the 2015 draft. Gilbert has made major strides since last being draft-eligible, focusing solely on pitching after being a two-way player in high school.
“It has really allowed me to focus on pitching as my sole craft,” Gilbert said. “You can do more research on what works and doesn’t work on certain guys and implement a bunch of different things. A lot of it was experimenting with things to see what worked and what doesn’t.”
A 6-foot-5, 195-pound hurler, Gilbert likes to attack hitters with his four-pitch mix, featuring a fastball, circle changeup, curveball and slider. He works in occasional two-seam fastballs, but mainly uses a four-seamer that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s.
He has a chance to have three solid off-speed offerings. He spent the off-season working on his slider and circle changeup. He changed his slider grip, which allows him to throw the pitch harder and with a tighter break.
Gilbert said he’s made major strides with his changeup and that it’s an offering his comfortable throwing this season.
“I’m starting to trust it more and throw it more, which is the key to figuring out what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “Hopefully this season I’ll be able to implement it more and see how it works against different hitters.”
Find more 2018 MLB Draft profiles here.
