PEORIA, Ariz. -- When Logan Gilbert took the mound in a Cactus League game a year ago in his first exposure to professional baseball, his heart was pounding and his hands were shaking. The results were equally shaky as the Mariners’ 2018 first-round MLB Draft pick got knocked out after allowing five runs and recording just two outs.

But that was a lifetime ago for the 22-year-old, who went on to become the Mariners’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year and enters the 2020 season as the No. 38 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. Now in big league camp for the first time, Gilbert put that memory to rest with a strong 29-pitch showing in his initial Cactus League start in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Giants.

This time, Gilbert allowed just an infield single over two innings, with one strikeout, while displaying a mid-90s fastball and an impressive array of off-speed offerings.

Last year’s outing was a long-forgotten blip for the Mariners. They knew they’d rushed Gilbert into a tough situation in his lone Cactus League outing of 2019, and they saw everything they hoped for from the 6-foot-6, 225-pounder in his Minor League campaign. But for Gilbert, erasing that stain loomed large in his mind.

“It was huge,” said the former Stetson University standout. “I was so ready to get back out there after a year just waiting for my turn. I think it was big last season, getting a full pro season under my belt, playing in stadiums and crowds and all that stuff. So now, this was just another game and I felt really comfortable out there.”

Opposing hitters don’t figure to feel nearly as comfortable as Gilbert brings an impressive four-pitch mix coming from a 6-foot-6 frame that he catapults well down the mound with his aggressive delivery.

“Logan was really good,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais. “Much better than last time he pitched in this ballpark. You can see how he’s come along. A lot of confidence, really good fastball and he got the breaking ball over the plate. ”

Gilbert was a little erratic with his breaking pitches in a 17-pitch first inning, spiking one in the dirt and missing high and wide several times. But the off-speed pitches he landed were impressive -- including a nasty 82 mph slider for his lone strikeout and a tantalizing 71 mph curve -- and his fastball hovered between 93-95 mph.

“He’s got all four pitches,” Servais said. “That fastball gets on the hitters. He’s got a good feel for the curveball, the slider and he threw a decent changeup today, too. He’s got what you’re looking for in a young starting pitcher.”

Gilbert mixed in all of his pitches effectively, an impressive outing for any starter this early in spring.

“My stuff felt pretty good,” Gilbert said. “It’s not as sharp as I want it right now. But it’s Spring Training, I was throwing strikes and had all my pitches, somewhat. So I feel good about it. I was getting strikes with pretty much everything. I threw a couple changeups at the end that weren’t there, but besides that, every other pitch was feeling good.”

Gilbert will almost certainly open the season at Double-A Arkansas, back where he finished a fast-rising 2019 campaign when he leaped up three levels and finished a combined 10-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 26 starts.

But these experiences figure to be invaluable in his development and Thursday’s outing was another step in a journey that could bring Gilbert to Seattle sometime in the second half of this season, if all goes well.

What is the most important thing he’s gaining from this time in big league camp?

“Just confidence,” Gilbert said. “There’s some good hitters over there, like any team we’re going to face. I feel like I have the stuff to compete with them and am really confident in my stuff, and I feel I can go toe-to-toe with anybody. That’s how I feel in my mind.”

Since there are two weeks between the start of the Major League season and the first Minor League games on April 9, the Mariners aren’t rushing Gilbert this spring. They’ll bring him along slowly and let him continue building up after big league camp ends.

Having waited a year to put his first Cactus League outing in the rear-view mirror, Gilbert understands the value of patience.

“I was so ready, just counting down the days,” he said of Thursday’s debut. “It felt like it took forever to get here, but finally I got out there facing hitters. I’m back in the swing of things and feeling good.”