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During Tuesday’s New York Mets spring training game against the Miami Marlins, former Tennessee Vols baseball star Drew Gilbert put up a strong at-bat that earned the rookie outfielder a lot of accolades.
Top prospect Gilbert, who was acquired by the Mets from the Houston Astros in the previous season, replaced Tyrone Taylor in center field on Tuesday.
Gilbert took the mound for the first time in the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. The former Tennessee star fell behind 0-2 quite fast. Gilbert, a left-handed batter, was up against a left-handed hitter, which was an evident disadvantage for most hitters. This made things worse.
Gilbert was dealt a breaking ball on the 0–2 count, as was to be expected. But Gilbert didn’t have the appearance of a guy who hasn’t yet made his major league debut. Gilbert, on the other hand, stayed inside the ball, saw that it might be a strike, and hit a two-run single into left field.
Gilbert’s performance on Tuesday in a 0-2 count was about as good as it gets. These kinds of at-bats, along with Gilbert’s good arm and deft outfield defense, give him a strong candidate to play for the big league club in Queens at some point in the 2024 season.
You’ll be even more sure that Gilbert, the former Vol, will be facing off against the Atlanta Braves and the rest of the NL East at some point in 2024 if you listen to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza discuss the player.
Mendoza stated, “We left on left with the bases loaded today, went to two strikes, and remained in there.” “The front shoulder stayed in place, played the ball, and moved in the other direction. Major hit. only the general strategy. We are aware of the power. We are aware of his striking zone control strategy. However, it was encouraging to witness that today with the bases loaded and the count falling behind.”
To the compliments, added SNY reporter Andy Martino, who questioned Mendoza about Gilbert on Tuesday.
“On Baseball Night in New York, there are some aspects about Drew Gilbert that really stand out,” stated Martino.
“To start with, he’s quite small. And he moves really quickly. This guy has a cannon for an arm since he was drafted as a pitcher out of high school, attended college, and eventually converted to outfield. He has already demonstrated some quite outstanding relay throws. In the center, he truly covers ground. It will be fascinating to watch if his arm puts him in right field or center field based on speed in the end. It’s a good problem to have. For those reasons, he’s already made an impression on the field thus far.
