PEORIA, Ariz. — In an organization filled with talented starting pitching, spanning from the major-league roster to the complex in the Dominican Republic, no pitcher has embodied the Mariners’ philosophy of pitching development and performance more than Logan Gilbert.
Going into his fifth big-league season, Gilbert has been rewarded for his diligent work, commitment to improvement and All-Star-level performance.
On Saturday morning, a few hours before he would take the mound for his fourth start of the spring, Gilbert was named the Mariners’ opening day starter.
“I know all of you, or some of you, have been asking about the opening day starter,” manager Dan Wilson said. “We did have a chance to figure that out yesterday, Logan Gilbert will be our opening day starter this year. A very tough decision, but Logan certainly deserves it, and we are excited about that, and looking forward to getting started here on the 27th.”
Gilbert was the Mariners’ best pitcher last season, being named to the American League All-Star team and earning the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher award from the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He set career marks in starts (33), ERA (3.23), innings pitched (208 2/3), quality starts (22), strikeouts (220) and WHIP (walks plus hits over innings pitched, 0.89).
His total innings pitched and WHIP were the best in the American League while he tied for most starts and finished second in quality starts and opponent batting average for a starter (.194). He was the first Mariners pitcher to log 200-plus innings and strike out more than 200 batters since Felix Hernandez in 2014.
Gilbert understands the honor of starting in the first game of the season.
“I think back to high school and college and it felt like a holiday on opening day,” he said. “It’s the first game of the year, all the best pitchers are out there. So to me, and I’m an extreme baseball fan so it’s probably different, but I felt like the world stopped for that day, and everybody just had their TV on and watched the best pitchers in the game go at it. It feels like a holiday and it always has for me, and I’m sure it will again this year.”
Wilson had a meeting with Gilbert and Luis Castillo, who has taken the ball on opening day the past two seasons, and informed them of the decision.
“He was excited for Logan,” Wilson said of Castillo’s reaction.
How excited?
“When Dan told me, for like five seconds, probably, I don’t think a word came out,” Gilbert said. “I was just, like, taking it in. And Luis was like, ‘Say something!’ He was super excited for me and giving me hugs and all this kind of stuff. That’s just the kind of guy he is behind closed doors. He’s the exact same thing that you see on the field.”
With a wide grin, Castillo recounted the story through interpreter Freddy Llanos.
“After we had that conversation, I went over to the training room and we just sat down for about half an hour, and I don’t think he said one word,” Castillo said.
While Castillo has always said that starting on opening day, making the All-Star team and winning the Cy Young were his goals for each season, he wasn’t upset that he wouldn’t achieve one of them.
“I’m super happy for him,” Castillo said. “When the manager pulled me in and told me that he was going to give it to him, I was happy because, I’ve had three, four opening days, and this is his first one. I just hope that he just continues. It’s his first, but it won’t be his last.”
Gilbert wouldn’t have been upset if Castillo had been selected. He was almost expecting it.
“Obviously, I was a little caught off guard, because I didn’t want to expect it,” Gilbert said. “Of course, with Luis being the veteran guy, I thought he was completely deserving. We have a bunch of guys on our staff that could be opening day starters.”
