Mariners’ top pitching prospect Logan Gilbert hopes to learn from past, put nerves aside in first spring training start

PEORIA, Ariz. – The conversation was perhaps 15 seconds and completely one-sided.

Scott Servais did all the talking, forcing young Logan Gilbert to look him in the eye to make sure what he was saying was digested while still trying to maintain perspective and perhaps maybe make the panicked pitcher smile or just stop breathing quite so hard.

Meanwhile, it was clear Gilbert just wanted to hand Servais the baseball and exit the one place he’d always felt comfortable, even dominant – the pitcher’s mound – as quickly as possible so he could fully comprehend what had just transpired in private.

Gilbert’s first professional appearance of his young baseball career had come on March 10, 2019 in a…