Former Tennessee Vols baseball star Drew Gilbert put together an impressive at bat on Tuesday in the New York Mets' spring training game against the Miami Marlins that led to some significant praise for the young outfielder.
Gilbert, a top prospect who was traded to the Mets from the Houston Astros last season, entered Tuesday's game to take over in center field for Tyrone Taylor.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Gilbert came to the plate for his only at bat of the game. The former Tennessee standout quickly got down in the count 0-2. To make matters worse, Gilbert, a lefty batter, was facing a left-handed hitter -- an obvious disadvantage for most hitters.
Predictably, Gilbert received a breaking ball on the 0-2 count. Gilbert, however, didn't look like a player who has yet to make his big league debut. Instead, Gilbert stayed inside the ball, recognized it as a potential strike, and shot the ball into left field for a two-run single.
You can't ask for much more in an 0-2 count than what Gilbert delivered on Tuesday. Those types of at bats combined with Gilbert's slick fielding in the outfield and his plus-arm make him a good bet to be in Queens with the big league club at some point during the 2024 season.
And if you listen to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza talk about Gilbert, you'll be even more convinced that the former Vol will be going toe-to-toe with the Atlanta Braves and the rest of the NL East at some point in 2024.
"Left on left today with the bases loaded, got to two strikes, and stayed in there," said Mendoza. "Front shoulder stayed in there, put the ball in play, went the other way. Big hit. Just overall approach. We know the power. We know how he controls the strike zone. But seeing it today with the bases loaded and getting behind in the count, it was good to see."
SNY reporter Andy Martino, who asked Mendoza the question about Gilbert on Tuesday, added to the praise.
"There's some things about Drew Gilbert that really stick out," said Martino on Baseball Night in New York.
"First of all, he's really compact. And he's really fast. This is a guy who was drafted as a pitcher (out of high school), went to college, and eventually became an outfielder -- so he's got a cannon of an arm. He's made some relay throws already that have been really impressive. He really covers ground in center. So it'll be interesting to see if he's in center field because of his speed, ultimately, or in right field because of his arm. Good problem to have.....He's a guy that's standing out on the field so far in the early going for those reasons."
Gilbert almost certainly won't start the season on the Mets' big league roster. The team wants him to get some time in AAA, where he'll start the season after ending last season in AA, before he gets called up to the big leagues.
But it likely won't take more than a couple of injuries in the Mets' outfield before Gilbert gets the chance he's been waiting for since he was a kid.
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