Brady's Spin: Logan Gilbert Likely Needs Another Rehab Start in Minor Leagues

The All-Star went three innings for Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, but his loss of velocity later in his outing likely signifies he needs more build-up time.
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) and starting pitcher Logan Gilbert (36, right) walk from the bullpen after warming up against the Athletics at T-Mobile Park on March 27.
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) and starting pitcher Logan Gilbert (36, right) walk from the bullpen after warming up against the Athletics at T-Mobile Park on March 27. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

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Seattle Mariners ace pitcher Logan Gilbert made his second rehab start on Wednesday for Triple-A Tacoma, giving up two runs on five hits against Las Vegas. He walked one, hit one and struck out two in the 60-pitch effort.

Gilbert hit 96.8 mph in the first inning but saw his velocity slide to 93.7 before being removed, as noted by Adam Jude of the Seattle Times.

For me, personally, I'm not going to be "worried" about the loss of velocity until Gilbert himself says he didn't feel right. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that Gilbert has made just two appearances since the end of April and that holding velocity is hard. As a result, I think Gilbert needs more rehab seasoning before coming back to Seattle.

Is that one more start? Two more starts? Only the Mariners and Gilbert can tell, but the team certainly needs to see him build his pitch count and keep his velocity deeper than the third inning, especially as they try to hold onto their spot in the playoff race.

Seattle has lost six of nine entering play on Thursday.

Gilbert, 27, is 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA this season. He's struck out 44 batters in 30.1 innings. He was an All-Star last season and led the majors in innings pitched at 208.2.

The Mariners are now 32-28 and they'll take on the Baltimore Orioles again on Thursday afternoon with first pitch coming at 12:40 p.m. PT. Bryan Woo will take the mound against Zach Eflin.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.