GM Jerry Dipoto breaks down Mariners’ top 2 MLB Draft picks
Jun 6, 2018, 4:17 PM | Updated: Jun 19, 2018, 12:10 pm
Stetson pitcher Logan Gilbert was the Mariners' top pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. (AP)
(AP)
The three-day, 40-round MLB Draft is in the books, and there are now 40 new names attached to the Seattle Mariners.
Stelton: Go ahead and appreciate what the first-place M’s are doing
General manager Jerry Dipoto joined Danny, Dave and Moore for the weekly Jerry Dipoto Show, and he spent some time talking about the team’s top two draft picks.
Here’s what Dipoto had to say.
Logan Gilbert, RHP, Stetson (First round, 14th overall)
As you might expect of a first-round selection, Dipoto said the Mariners were high on the 6-foot-6, 225-pound Gilbert won Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year.
“Big, physical, throws in the mid-90s,” Dipoto said of Gilbert, who leads the nation in strikeouts this year. “Two breaking balls we think they’re both above-average pitches, already has a changeup and above-average command.”
Don’t expect to see too much of Gilbert in the minors this year – and the Mariners are certainly hopeful he won’t need too much time total on the farm.
“He’s thrown a ton this year. We’re probably not gonna pitch him a whole lot this summer,” Dipoto said. “He’s what we think is a fast mover and profiles at the mid-to-upper part of the major league rotation.”
Josh Stowers, OF, Louisville (Second round, 54th overall)
“Toolsy.”
That was one word Dipoto used to describe the 6-foot, 205-pound Stowers, a center field who can get on-base often and cause a disruption, an ability to make some plays in center field, and has a little bit of pop in his bat.
“Josh is a top of the scale type runner,” Dipoto said. “Gets on base, has a hit tool, he’s got some power to the pull side and we think an exceptionally gifted defensive center fielder. (He’s a) 4 1/2 tool player, if you will.”
