A Fresh Start at Bingo: A Drew Gilbert Deep Dive

The new No. 2 prospect in the Mets organization has enjoyed a successful start to his career in the blue and orange. The 2022 first rounder out of the University of Tennessee has significantly improved his Double-A stats since the trade deadline deal with the Astros. In half as many games with Binghamton compared with Corpus Christi (35 vs. 60) he has the same number of home runs (6), RBIs (21), and has an OPS 270 points higher (.984 vs. .713). Let’s take a look at what his actions in his swing are and how he’s improved over the last two months.

Stance and set up

While Gilbert has an upright set up, his load and toe tap resembles Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks. He squats into his back leg, counter rotates slightly away from the pitcher, and does a small double toe tap to move first from open to closed with his lower half and second to gain ground towards the pitcher and begin rotating his hips.

In a side-by-side with Carroll, once they start their loads, the two look incredibly similar and have a generally balanced approach less reliant on guessing that keeps their weight back on off speed pitches.

Swing plane

Where Gilbert and Carroll differ is with their attack angle. Carroll has a shorter and slightly flatter swing while Gilbert’s is longer and has a higher attack angle (he swings upwards slightly more). That will likely lead to a higher miss rate on high fastballs but more power on low fastballs and change ups in the zone.

The adjustment

While Gilbert tore it up in High-A to start the season, he struggled mightily once he reached Double-A, potentially making it easier for the Astros to part ways with him. Even though he had such good numbers to start the season, hitting the ball just as hard as he is now, he hit ground balls at a significantly higher clip.

Since his trade, his swing has shifted to increase his attack angle and also his launch angles. This has led to his recent power surge and represents a significant step forwards in his development. On the season now, he has 18 homers with potential for far more in the future.

The takeaway

Making adjustments as a younger hitter is a great sign for sustained success. While a hitter shouldn’t make an adjustment every time they are in a rut, Gilbert saw an inflated ground ball rate and was both smart and athletic enough to find the right plane for his swing to be successful. Making adjustments in season is difficult but are necessary in a seven month season. If a player is in a slump but is hitting the ball hard and at the right launch angles, there can be an element of bad luck at play.

Gilbert’s ability to differentiate what would actually be a productive adjustment from what wouldn’t be shows impressive maturity and intelligence. His set up and stance look dialed in at the moment and while his swing is a bit long right now, his bat speed makes up for it and he actually has a well below-average Double-A strikeout rate, showing his elite bat-to-ball skills. In the early going, it seems that Billy Eppler and the Mets got at minimum a fair return for Justin Verlander.