Meet Drew Gilbert, Mets’ Newest Top Prospect
Drew Gilbert, Photo by Angela Piazza of Caller-Times/USA Today
Position: Centerfield
Bats/Throws: L/L
Age: 22 (September 27, 2000)
2023 Minor League Stats (A+/AA): 81 G, 310 AB, .274/.363/.458/.821, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 85 H
2023 Advanced Stats (A+/AA): 142 wRC+, 9.4 BB%, 19.75 K%, 0.228 ISO, 0.51 BB/K
Before MLB
Drew Gilbert has been a highly-renown prospect going back to his high school days. The 5-foot-9 outfielder from St. Paul, Minnesota was originally a two-way star, dominating the high school circuit on both sides of the ball. Gilbert batted .400 as a junior, while also going 7-1 with a 0.63 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings. For his efforts, Gilbert was named the St. Paul Pioneers Player of the Year, Star Tribune Metro Player, and Minnesota Mr. Baseball.
Due to his college commitment at Oregon, which he eventually recommitted to Tennessee due to a coaching change, Gilbert fell to the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, where he was taken by his hometown Minnesota Twins. The left-hander did not sign with the Twins, deciding to take the college route to MLB.
The decision paid dividends for Gilbert, as the outfielder developed his game further at Tennessee. After playing only 15 games his freshman year, Gilbert took positive strides in his sophomore season. The then 21-year-old slashed .274/.341/.437/.778 with 10 home runs while holding down centerfield. That same year, he made national headlines after dominating the College World Series circuit, where he hit a home run in all three games of the Knoxville Regional Round, including a walk-off grand slam against the Wright State Raiders.
The Mets are reportedly acquiring the Astros' top-ranked prospect, Drew Gilbert in the Justin Verlander trade.
Gilbert was the Astros' first-round pick last year and represented Houston at this year's Futures Game. pic.twitter.com/WB3eF8HDAy
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 1, 2023
For his dominating performance in the College World Series, Gilbert was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Knoxville Regional and earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team heading into the 2022 season.
With high expectations heading into 2022, Gilbert doubled down and dominated the SEC. In his junior year, he slashed .362/.455/.673/1.128 with 11 home runs in 10 less games than his Sophomore season, leading Tennessee to another Super Regional Round appearance in the College World Series.
MLB Draft
After a dominating Junior season at Tennessee, Gilbert was projected as a late first-round pick among writers. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com slated the young outfielder as either the 24th or 26th pick before the draft, stating he was one of the better pure hitters in the draft.
As projected, Gilbert was selected 28th overall by the Houston Astros and signed for $2.5 million, which was just below the projected slot bonus. During the draft, MLB Network had Tony Vitello, the coach of Tennessee, on their panel, who had high praise for his former player.
“He does things in the locker room and dugout that is very hard to describe. (He) literally changed the way the program operates, thinks, competes, and works. He got our guys believing in themselves and he set a very high bar for work ethic.”
Rundown
Gilbert was scouted as one of the best pure hitters and overall refined players going into the 2022 draft. On the 20-80 scale for prospects, Gilbert was scouted as a 55 hit, 45 power, 55 run, 60 arm, and 55 field player.
“Gilbert is extremely aggressive in all phases of the game,” MLB.com wrote about Gilbert. “His superb hand-eye coordination enables him to repeatedly barrel balls and produce high exit velocities. He’s not physical but does have enough bat speed and strength to provide 15-20 homers per season without selling out for power.”
In his short minor league tenure, Gilbert has displayed the tools that many have raved about. The outfielder dominated High-A ball in 2023, slashing .361/.421/.686/1.107 with six home runs in 21 games, which earned him a call-up to the Astros Double-A team in Corpus Christi.
While Gilbert’s slash line has dipped at Double-A, .241/.342/.371/.713, there isn’t any reason to be concerned. Through 60 games, Gilbert has doubled his walk rate at Corpus Christi (6.3% to 12.5%) and lowered his strikeout rate (22.1% to 17.4%), while also lowering his groundball percentage (47.4% to 39.1%), something the young prospect has been knocked for in the past.
Drew Gilbert guarding the wall pic.twitter.com/Ld61Rr8Oep
— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) July 30, 2023
On the defensive end, Gilbert is also praised for his play in center field. He was plugged into the position while at Tennessee, and scouts believe that his professional reads, above-average arm, and speed will keep him at the position.
“Gilbert has solid-to-plus speed and uses it to steal and take extra bases,” MLB.com wrote. “His quickness and instincts allow him to cover ground in center field, where he shows the plus arm strength that produced fastballs clocked up to 93 mph during infrequent college pitching appearances.”
With high praise before his career started, and now with the numbers to back up the talk in the minors, Gilbert is a consensus top-100 prospect in MLB. He is ranked as high as 36th by Baseball Prospective, while also reaching the top 100 on other respected platforms (49th on Fangraphs and 68th on MLB.com). Due to his prowess, Gilbert represented the Astros in the 2023 Futures Game.
ETA
Gilbert has the potential to make an immediate impact with the Mets. Fangraphs projects that Gilbert will make his MLB debut in 2024, while MLB.com projects the outfielder to join the Mets in 2025.
The timetable is mostly dependent on Gilbert and how fast he acclimates to the high minor-league levels. If he finds consistency at Double-A this season, there’s no reason to believe that Gilbert won’t get a chance with the major league team next season. As Billy Epller has eluded to, the Mets’ goal is to build the farm system and get younger, and with the trades of Mark Canha and Tommy Pham, nobody is blocking Gilbert in the outfield.
Whether it’s next year or 2025, Gilbert is expected to be a contributor and cornerstone player for the Mets. After being traded to New York for Justin Verlander, Gilbert was slotted as the Mets’ fourth-best prospect by MLB.com, but Metsmerized’s own Mike Mayer has him as the Mets’ second-best prospect behind Luisangel Acuña.
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