Seven players from Tennessee baseball’s 2022 SEC Championship team have already made their debuts in the MLB. But one of the top players on that team and one of the players most responsible for Tennessee’s resurgence, Drew Gilbert, has yet to make it to The Show.
However, Gilbert is currently on quite the tear for the AAA Syracuse Mets in the last week. Over the course of his last six games, Gilbert is hitting .318 with five home runs and nine RBIs. Add a walk and two hit-by pitches and the centerfielder has a .400 on-base percentage over that time frame.
Second straight day with a home run for Drew Gilbert! 💣 pic.twitter.com/JUcbJ0Jc8w
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 3, 2025
There’s a handful of reasons while Gilbert has yet to make his MLB debut, one being a couple injuries that he’s dealt with during his professional career. The most notable injury came last season which limited Gilbert to just 62 games.
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After missing much of last season due to injury, Gilbert started his 2025 campaign in High-A where he slashed .375/.444/.708 in six games before bypassing AA to go straight to AAA Syracuse. Now in 65 games in Syracuse this season, the centerfielder is slashing .230/.343/402 with nine home runs, 12 doubles and 35 RBIs.
Gilbert is currently the No. 10 prospect in the Mets farm system according to MLB Pipeline but it’s been difficult for him to make his MLB debut because of the strength of the Met’s big league team.
While other Vols such as Trey Lipscomb and Jordan Beck have made quick debuts in the big leagues because they’re on bad teams who are happy to call up young prospects and have them develop in the MLB, New York is competing for the NL East title. The Mets aren’t going to call Gilbert up to sit on the bench, stunting his development, but also don’t have an open starting spot.
Gilbert was one of the first stars of the Tony Vitello era and won the SEC batting title in 2022, hitting .362 over the course of the entire season and .348 in SEC play. Gilbert also added 11 home runs, 37 total extra-base hits and 70 RBIs during his junior season in Knoxville.
The Houston Astros selected Gilbert with the 28th pick in the 2022 MLB Draft before trading him to New York at the trade deadline in 2023 to acquire ace Justin Verlander.
