Andrew Christopher Gilbert (born September 27, 2000) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

organization. He played college baseball for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

Amateur career

Gilbert attended

Stillwater Area High School Stillwater Area High School (SAHS) is a public school located in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, United States. It serves as the primary high school for the Stillwater Area Public School District (834), the oldest public school district in Minnesota ...

Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River, across from H ...

. As a junior, he helped lead Stillwater to their first state championship since 1991, striking out 15 batters and throwing over 115 pitches in a complete-game shutout. He finished his junior year batting .400 alongside going 7–1 with a 0.63 ERA and 100 strikeouts over innings. As a senior in 2019, he was named the '' St. Paul Pioneer Press'' Baseball Player of the Year, the ''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'' Metro Player of the Year, and Minnesota Mr. Baseball. He finished his senior year with 97 strikeouts while giving up only one run over 49 innings alongside batting .370 with eight stolen bases. He was selected by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in the 35th round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

but did not sign. He originally committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for c ...

, but switched his commitment to the

after a coaching change at Oregon State during the summer before his freshman year of college. During his freshman year at Tennessee in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, Gilbert pitched eight innings and made ten starts in the outfield before the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. As a sophomore in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, Gilbert became Tennessee's starting center fielder. He was named

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) Newcomer of the Week twice during the season. He garnered national attention after he hit an ultimate grand slam versus the

Wright State Raiders The Wright State Raiders are the athletics teams of Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio. The school currently participates in ten sports at the Division I level of the NCAA and are members of the Horizon League. The school's mascot is a wo ...

in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, leading the Volunteers to a 9–8 win. He was subsequently named the Most Outstanding Player of the Knoxville Regional after hitting a home run in all three games of the regional, helping Tennessee reach their first Super Regional in 16 years. He finished the season having started 67 games with a slash line of .274/.341/.437 with ten home runs, 62 RBIs, and ten stolen bases. Gilbert was named to the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team after the season alongside teammate Blade Tidwell. Gilbert returned as Tennessee's starting center fielder in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

and was named to the All SEC-First Team. During Tennessee's first game of the Super Regional versus the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

, Gilbert was ejected and subsequently suspended one game for arguing a strike call. He returned for the third and final game of the Super Regional, but Tennessee lost, thus ending their season. Gilbert finished the season having appeared in 58 games, compiling a slash line of .362/.455/.673 with 11 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 21 doubles.

Professional career

Houston Astros

The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

selected Gilbert in the first round, with the 28th overall selection, in the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 ...

. He signed with the team for $2.5 million. Gilbert made his professional debut with the

Florida Complex League Astros The Florida Complex League Astros are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays i ...

, homering in his first at-bat. After four games, he was promoted to the

Fayetteville Woodpeckers The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 201 ...

. His season ended in August after he dislocated his right elbow after a collision in the outfield. Over ten games for the season, he hit .313 with two home runs. To open the 2023 season, he was assigned to the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differen ...

. In early May, he was promoted to the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

. He was selected to represent the Astros at the 2023

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

New York Mets

On August 1, 2023, Gilbert and Ryan Clifford were traded to the

in exchange for pitcher

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...

. He was subsequently assigned to the

Binghamton Rumble Ponies The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

. Over 116 games for the 2023 season, Gilbert slashed .289/.381/.487 with 18 home runs and 59 RBIs.https://theathletic.com/4903778/2023/09/27/mets-all-minors-team-joander-suarez-sizzles-luisangel-acuna-shows-power-and-speed/

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Drew 2000 births Living people Baseball players from Minnesota Baseball outfielders Tennessee Volunteers baseball players United States national baseball team players All-American college baseball players Fayetteville Woodpeckers players Florida Complex League Astros players Asheville Tourists players Corpus Christi Hooks players