Notebook: Gilbert working on pitches, Sloan makes strong debut
Seattle Mariners RHP Logan Gilbert continued working on his cutter and even threw a couple sinkers on Sunday . Plus, what Ryan Sloan did in his first Cactus League game.
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Before he left camp to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic, Cal Raleigh stopped to chat with reporters. The topic of keeping up with the pitchers while he was gone came up and Raleigh said he would be Facetiming in for all of their meetings.
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Cal couldn’t eliminate the possibility that he wouldn’t be keeping tabs on his starters. He said it might be up to those present to let him know if they were acting up, specifically, trying to throw new pitches. That’s something Raleigh, who is all business behind the plate, is notorious for not being a fan of – especially if it is his good friend Logan Gilbert who is messing with his repertoire.
With Raleigh gone, it appeared Sunday that Gilbert may have taken advantage. Baseball Savant registered a number of higher-than-usual-velocity sliders that turned out to be a cutter he has worked on the past two offseasons. For good measure, he also threw two two-seamers, a pitch Raleigh refuses to call.
“We get to play around a little bit when he leaves,” Gilbert said after his outing. “He heard I was pitching today, so he just took off.”
While the cutter makes sense in his repertoire, the two-seamer is less of a match, yet Gilbert persists in trying to make it work. Sunday he saw the opportunity and it did not go well.
“He’s not going to be happy with that,” he said. “Last game I threw one sinker, it was a strike, and I heard he rushed out of the hot tub furious. So I threw two for two balls today and dove on the ground. He’s not going to be happy.”
Likely nobody was happy with the awkward dive Gilbert made on the first play of the game. Thankfully, he came away unscathed and was generally happy with the 2 2/3 innings he threw while allowing one run, striking out three and not walking a batter.
“I think the cutter today was right where we want it. So that’s a good sign,” he said. “Most of it was good, but just building comfort and repetition. It was a good mix of everything getting a little more competitive, but also still working on getting pitches in when we want to get them in.”
Sloan’s Cactus League debut
Gilbert stuck around after his outing and watched pitching prospect Ryan Sloan throw for the first time in a Cactus League game.
“It turns out he’s pretty good,” he said good-naturedly. “I wish he pitched way later in the game because he came in right after me and was throwing 99 and (the) best sweeper in the world. So (it) makes me feel a little bit old, but it’s nice to have that many arms.”
Sloan’s inning was indeed impressive as he needed just 12 pitches (10 strikes) to retire Kyle Higashioka on a flyout to right, Josh Smith on a strikeout looking and Ezequiel Duran on a ground out to shortstop. His first pitch was a 99 mph fastball, as was his called strike three on the strikeout.
“I was excited,” Sloan said after. “I wouldn’t say there were nerves. I kind of went into it and said I am not going to let the environment dictate what I know works. I was just going to go out there, be me, take my time, take it all in and stick to what I know works.”
While he won’t make the club out of spring training, club officials have said both Sloan and Kade Anderson could have a chance to pitch in the majors in 2026. The 20-yea- old Sloan made great gains in his first year in the organization impressing with his stuff, command and ability to add pitches. For his part, one of the biggest gains in his first year in pro ball was confidence.
“Obviously, I think the stuff has gotten a little bit better, I’ve added the sinker. All the pitches are starting to clean up. A lot more confidence in throwing them whenever I need,” he said. “But really, I just think mentally, just much more clear-headed, much better plan going out there. I know what I need. I know what my body needs before I go and throw. So just cleaning all that up, I think, has contributed to this year being a lot more ahead of last year.”
Notes
– Cole Young made the most of his first hit of the spring, belting a slider left in the middle of the plate 442 feet out to right field for a home run.
Watch: Cole Young mashes 1st HR of spring training
– JP Crawford continues to make progress towards a return as he took infield work (field only) and played a light catch. Dan Wilson reported Crawford checked out of his first live batting practice the day before with no problems.
– The Mariners will enjoy their first day off of the spring Monday and return Tuesday for a game against the Angels in Peoria with Bryan Woo set to start.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• 3 Seattle Mariners hitting coach Kevin Seitzer is high on
• Seattle Mariners GM: Cole Young ‘showing us that he’s ready’
• GM Hollander: Where Seattle Mariners stand on Logan Gilbert contract talks
• Jose Ferrer hopes to bring fun and ‘muchos ceros’ to Seattle Mariners’ bullpen
• Why top two Seattle Mariners’ pitching prospects have Cal’s attention
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