Former Vols baseball star gets good news to start the week
Former Tennessee Vols baseball star Drew Gilbert received some great news to start the week. The left-handed outfielder, a first-round pick by the Houston Astros in the 2022 MLB Draft, has been tearing it up in A-ball this season. In 21 games for the Asheville Tourists, Gilbert is hitting .361 with six home runs and […]
Former Tennessee Vols baseball star Drew Gilbert received some great news to start the week.
The left-handed outfielder, a first-round pick by the Houston Astros in the 2022 MLB Draft, has been tearing it up in A-ball this season.
In 21 games for the Asheville Tourists, Gilbert is hitting .361 with six home runs and 18 RBIs. His OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is an impressive 1.107.
As a result of Gilbert's torrid start to the season, he's leaving Asheville behind. The former Vol is being promoted to AA where he'll join the Corpus Christi Hooks.
This is a massive step for Gilbert as the promotion comes early enough in the season that it leaves the former Tennessee standout with a legitimate chance to reach AAA by the end of the season. If Gilbert performs well in AA and earns a promotion to AAA, there's an outside chance (though it's unlikely) he could receive a September call-up by the Astros (Gilbert is not currently on Houston's 40-man roster, which would need to happen for a call-up to be possible later this fall).
It's far more likely that Gilbert will battle for a roster spot in spring training next season. Still, Gilbert's career is clearly moving in the right direction and he appears poised to make an impact for the Astros sooner rather than later.
