Minnesota Twins' Top 50 Prospects 2010: No. 5, Kyle Gibson

2010 Top 50 Twins Prospects | No. 5 | Kyle Gibson

Position | Pitcher

Bats/Throws | Right/Right

Born | October 23, 1987 (Greenfield, Indiana)

School | University of Missouri

Height | 6'6''

Weight | 208 lbs.

2009 Ranking | Not Ranked




Breakdown

Heading into the 2009 draft, Gibson was considered one of the best amateur pitchers in the country. Unfortunately for Gibson (and fortunately for the Twins), a forearm stress fracture made teams weary of taking him. This allowed him to drop to the 22nd spot in the draft, where the Twins had a no-brainer in choosing Gibson.

Signing him became a little more strenuous than the Twins probably would have liked, but the sides came together on a $1.8 million contract on the night of the signing deadline.

In Gibson's freshman season at Mizzou, he was used primarily as a reliever, appearing in 26 games out of the bullpen. He worked several innings at a time, which helped him in his sophomore season as he transitioned into being a starting pitcher.

He won nine games in 2008 and was near the top of draft boards heading into 2009, even appearing as the fourth best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America . Gibson pitched well as a junior, but as the season wore on, he began feeling forearm tightness and during his last start on May 30, he was reportedly only hitting between 83-86 mph on his fastball.

Scouts worried about the possibility of Gibson needing Tommy John surgery, but he was diagnosed with a forearm fracture.

He fell to the Twins with the 22nd pick, and the Twins surprised a lot of people by signing him well above the suggested slot value for that pick.

Gibson went 28-10 with a 3.65 ERA in three years at Mizzou. He has a good body frame and his repertoire features a low-90's fastball with (according to Baseball America ) the best slider in the Twins' system.

Gibson also has a change-up, which he'll likely perfect while he's with the Twins. He'll be on the fast-track to the major leagues, so keep an eye on Gibson.

Matt Garza jumped from Advanced-A to the Majors in one season, so it's not unfathomable to believe Gibson can do it as well.

2009 Statistics

Not Available (Signed Late)

2010 Outlook
Gibson will begin the season in Advanced-A Fort Myers. There's a very good chance he won't finish the season in Fort Myers, so make sure to keep an eye on him.

Pitching Repertoire

• Fastball (90-92)
• Slider
• Change-up
  

Video

Estimated Time of Arrival
2011

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com