Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 50

Some scouts thought Gilbert had the second-best stuff among upper Midwest high school pitchers in the 2019 Draft (behind Pirates first-rounder Quinn Priester), but his 5-foot-9 frame and college commitment dropped him to his home-state Twins in the 35th round. Although he has pulled double duty at Tennessee and has run his fastball up to 93 mph in a relief role, he has emerged as a better prospect as a center fielder. He homered four times in seven postseason games last June to help the Volunteers reach the College World Series for the first time since 2005, then was the best hitter on a club that ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of this season. 

A fiery competitor who plays with a lot of emotion, Gilbert has an aggressive approach but also the hand-eye coordination to regularly barrel balls. His left-handed swing can get big when he gets too concerned with home runs, and he'd be a better hitter if he focused more on making quality contact. His bat speed and strength give him enough raw pop to hit 15-20 homers per season without selling out.

Gilbert has solid to plus speed and will steal and take extra bases. While he's not a true burner, his quickness and instincts allow him to run down balls from gap to gap in center field. His plus arm strength would allow him to play anywhere in the outfield, and he also showed feel for spinning a curveball and aptitude for throwing a changeup while drawing some Tim Collins comparisons in high school. 

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Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55

Gilbert was one of Tennessee’s best performers in 2022 -- when the Volunteers spent much of the spring as the No. 1 team in the country -- and finished with a .362/.455/.673 line and 32/33 K/BB ratio over 58 games. He went in the first round to the Astros but suffered a dislocated right elbow 10 games into his pro career. The former Volunteer got off to a fiery start at High-A Asheville in his first full season, slugging .686 while collecting 15 extra-base hits in 21 games, and pushed for Double-A quickly. He was forced to DH for a time due to a left elbow injury and was showing signs of heating up again when he was traded to the Mets in the Justin Verlander blockbuster. Gilbert finished the season with a .325/.423/.561 line in 35 games for Double-A Binghamton, helping it in its push to the Eastern League postseason.

The left-handed slugger is often described as a player who performs like his hair is on fire. Once criticized for putting the ball on the ground too often, he did a better job of adding lift and pushing his pull percentage to 50.9 across all three of his stops. That allowed his average power to play in games, especially at hitter-friendly Asheville, but he projects as a hit-over-slug batter given his 5-foot-9 frame.

Gilbert uses above-average speed well on the basepaths and can push defenses on balls to the gaps. He got time in all three outfield spots with both the Mets and Astros, but his wheels and aggressiveness serve him just fine in center. His arm strength that helped him throw 93 mph off the mound in college also suits a move to right, if that’s where New York needs him.

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55 

He might have had the second-best stuff among prep pitchers from the upper Midwest in the 2019 Draft, trailing only Pirates first-rounder Quinn Priester, but Gilbert's 5-foot-9 frame and Tennessee commitment slid him to his home-state Twins in the 35th round. He starred as center fielder for the Volunteers, homering four times in seven playoff games to lead them to the 2021 College World Series and posting the best numbers (.362/.455/.673) on a club that ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of 2022. He signed for $2,497,500 as Houston's first first-round choice in three years but played just 10 pro games before dislocating his right elbow after running into an outfield wall. Gilbert climbed quickly from High-A to Double-A in his first full season before moving from the Astros to the Mets in the Justin Verlander Deadline deal.

Gilbert is extremely aggressive in all phases of the game, yet his superb hand-eye coordination enables him to repeatedly barrel balls and produce high exit velocities. His left-handed stroke can get long because he hunts home runs, and while he rarely strikes out, he does make more ground-ball contact than desired. He's not physical but does have enough bat speed and strength to provide 15-20 homers per season without selling out for power. 

Gilbert has solid-to-plus speed and uses it to steal and take extra bases. His quickness and instincts allow him to cover ground in center field, where he shows the plus arm strength that produced fastballs clocked up to 93 mph during infrequent college pitching appearances. A fiery competitor with a lot of emotion, he's destined to become a fan favorite but needs to play more under control at times.

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 50

Some scouts thought Gilbert had the second-best stuff among upper Midwest high school pitchers in the 2019 Draft (behind only Pirates first-rounder Quinn Priester), but his 5-foot-9 frame and commitment to Tennessee dropped him to his homestate Twins in the 35th round. He starred as a center fielder with the Volunteers, homering four times in seven playoff games to help them reach the 2021 College World Series and putting up the best numbers on a team that ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of this season. The Astros took him with their first first-round pick in three years and signed him for $2,497,500.

Gilbert has an aggressive approach at the plate but his uncanny hand-eye coordination still enables him to consistently barrel balls. He could become an even better hitter if he focused on making quality contact, but his quick left-handed stroke can get too long when he hunts home runs. He has enough bat speed and strength to produce 15-20 homers per season without swinging for the fences.

A fiery competitor who plays with a lot of emotion -- sometimes too much -- Gilbert has solid-to-plus speed and looks to steal and take extra bases. He's not a true burner but his quickness and instincts allow him to chase down balls from gap to gap in center field. He has plus arm strength that produced fastballs up to 93 mph in sporadic pitching appearances at Tennessee, and he also displayed feel for spinning a curveball and using a changeup while drawing Tim Collins comparisons as a prepster.

Awards

MiLB.com Organization All-Star

Year	Team
2023

Futures Game Selection

Year	Team
2023

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	09/25/2024	CF Drew Gilbert assigned to Scottsdale Scorpions.
	07/19/2024	Syracuse Mets sent OF Drew Gilbert on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie Mets.
	07/15/2024	Syracuse Mets sent OF Drew Gilbert on a rehab assignment to FCL Mets.
	07/13/2024	Syracuse Mets sent OF Drew Gilbert on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie Mets.
	07/11/2024	Syracuse Mets sent OF Drew Gilbert on a rehab assignment to FCL Mets.
	04/07/2024	Syracuse Mets placed OF Drew Gilbert on the 7-day injured list.
	03/29/2024	OF Drew Gilbert assigned to Syracuse Mets.
	03/07/2024	New York Mets Prospects activated OF Drew Gilbert.
	02/01/2024	New York Mets invited non-roster OF Drew Gilbert to spring training.
	08/01/2023	New York Mets traded RHP Justin Verlander to Houston Astros for OF Drew Gilbert and OF Ryan Clifford.
	08/01/2023	OF Drew Gilbert assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
	08/01/2023	Binghamton Rumble Ponies activated OF Drew Gilbert.
	07/14/2023	Corpus Christi Hooks activated OF Drew Gilbert from the temporarily inactive list.
	07/07/2023	Corpus Christi Hooks placed OF Drew Gilbert on the temporarily inactive list.
	07/07/2023	American League Futures activated OF Drew Gilbert.
	05/09/2023	OF Drew Gilbert assigned to Corpus Christi Hooks from Asheville Tourists.
	04/03/2023	OF Drew Gilbert assigned to Asheville Tourists from Fayetteville Woodpeckers.
	09/30/2022	Fayetteville Woodpeckers activated OF Drew Gilbert from the 7-day injured list.
	08/23/2022	Fayetteville Woodpeckers placed OF Drew Gilbert on the 7-day injured list.
	08/08/2022	OF Drew Gilbert assigned to Fayetteville Woodpeckers from FCL Astros Orange.
	08/08/2022	Fayetteville Woodpeckers activated OF Drew Gilbert.
	08/04/2022	OF Drew Gilbert assigned to FCL Astros Orange.
	07/26/2022	Houston Astros signed OF Drew Gilbert.
	03/01/2022	OF Drew Gilbert and assigned to Tennessee Volunteers.