Former Astros Top Prospect Drew Gilbert Shines in MLB Debut with Giants

In baseball, it's always worth keeping an eye on the prospects your team parts ways with in order to track their careers and see if a mistake was made in letting them go.

The Houston Astros over the years are no exception when it comes to having dealt away high profile youngsters in exchange for players who have helped deliver championships or at least deep playoff runs with immediacy to the franchise.

One of those prospects is outfielder Drew Gilbert, who Houston traded two years ago to the New York Mets at the deadline in exchange for the return of Justin Verlander.

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Though the Astros did not go on to defend their 2022 World Series title, Verlander was effective both in the regular season and in a playoff run that ended in the ALCS in seven games against the hated rival Texas Rangers.

Gilbert on the other hand kept at it in the minor leagues, and at this year's deadline he was actually traded again from the Mets to the San Francisco Giants in a package of prospects that netted Tyler Rogers for New York.

On Friday night, he made his long awaited big league debut for the Giants and shined defensively, making a diving play in the third inning in right field as well as the game-ending putout later on:

Welcome to The Show, Drew Gilbert!

After flashing the leather earlier in his @SFGiants debut, the 24-year-old seals the victory in his first big league contest: pic.twitter.com/Gv63bWWFVB
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 9, 2025

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What Kind of Prospect Was Gilbert For Astros?

San Francisco Giants right fielder Drew Gilbert prepares to swing while wearing an orange jersey and dark brown helmet — Aug 8, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Drew Gilbert (61) bats against Washington Nationals catcher Drew Millas (81) in his MLB debut during the second inning at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Before Houston traded Gilbert to the Mets, he was having a big year in 2023 in the minor leagues. In 21 games at High-A Asheville, he slashed .360/.421/.686 with six home runs and 18 RBI before being promoted to Double-A.

He played 60 games with Corpus Christi prior to the trade and was starting to fins his way, slashing .241/.342/.371 before his numbers exploded down the stretch with the New York's Binghamton Double-A affiliate.

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With a slash line of .325/.423/.561 and another six home runs alongside 21 RBI over 35 games there, the young outfielder would make the climb to Triple-A by 2024.

Now, still just 24 years old, Gilbert gets a chance to show San Francisco that he's not just a promising prospect, he's a legitimate big league player.

If he can do that over the coming weeks, there is no question Gilbert is going to make Astros fans groan at the though that they traded him away two years ago rather than holding on and letting him develop for Houston.

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