Mariners take Stetson RHP Logan Gilbert with 14th pick of MLB Draft

Jun 4, 2018, 5:52 PM | Updated: Jun 5, 2018, 10:49 am

Seattle Sports

The Mariners went with a power arm with their first-round pick of the 2018 MLB Draft.

Logan Gilbert, a right-handed pitcher from Stetson University, was taken 14th overall by Seattle on Monday evening.

Gilbert, a four-year junior, led Division I with 157 strikeouts in 15 starts (107 innings). He is 11-1 with a 2.52 ERA and .172 opponents batting average for the Hatters.

On Saturday, Gilbert struck out 14 over seven innings of two-run ball to lead No. 1 seed Stetson past Oklahoma State 11-1 in the regional round of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Stetson is set to meet North Carolina in a super regional best of three series, the final step before the eight-team College World Series.

“Logan is a polished, accomplished college pitcher,” said Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter in a press release. “He is a strikeout pitcher who controls the zone and wins, as evidenced by his 21-1 mark over the past two years. This is a player we felt we had no chance at, coming out of the summer. We are truly excited to add this type of talent to our organization.”

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Gilbert won Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year and received ASUN first-team all-conference honors in 2017. He was also named third-team All-America by Perfect Game and second-team All-America by Collegiate Baseball. Over the Apopka, Fla. native’s career with the Hatters, he is 23-2 with a 2.38 ERA with 307 strikeouts and 75 walks in 51 games (245 1/3 innings) while allowing only 11 home runs.

Stetson has a history of producing stellar MLB pitchers. Both Cleveland’s Corey Kluber, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, and the Mets’ Jacob DeGrom, the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year and a 2015 All-Star, played for the Hatters.

Pitching for the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod Collegiate League last summer, Gilbert earned the Thomas Yankus Pitching Award and was named to the All-League team thanks to a 1.93 ERA and 39 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings.