Twins fans have waited for the Minnesota Twins to call up their 2009 first round pick (22nd over all) for some time and that day has finally arrived for Kyle Gibson. Gibson will join the Twins in Miami today but is not scheduled to start until Saturday at Target Field against the Kansas City Royals.
Gibson was born in Greenfield, Indiana on October 23, 1987, just two days before the Twins won their first ever World Series. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Gibson in the 36th round in 2006 but Kyle chose to attend the University of Missouri instead. Gibson pitched for the Missouri Tigers in 2007 and 2008. In his two seasons there he pitched in 47 games, starting 14 and he had 2 complete games. Gibson put up a 17-7 won/lost and also recorded 7 saves. In 2007 he pitched in 67.2 innings and had a 4.12 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In 2008 in 86.2 innings he had a 3.84 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. During his college career his SO/9 ratio was 10.1.
The Twins made Gibson their first round selection in 2009 and the general perception was that Gibson fell to number 22 over all due to an arm injury. Gibson signed with Minnesota for a reported $1.8 million bonus and started his career in Ft. Myers in 2010 but after going 4-1 there he was bumped up to New Britain where he posted a 7-5 record with a 3.68 ERA. The Twins then promoted Gibson to AAA Rochester where he started 3 games and had a 1.72 ERA with a 0-0 record and Gibson was on the fast track to Minnesota. But sometimes things don’t go as planned, in Rochester in 2011 Gibson was 3-8 with a 4.81 ERA in 18 starts before being sidelined with a sore elbow. Gibson had TJ surgery on November 7, 2011 and returned late in 2012 pitching a couple of games in Ft. Myers and two more in Rochester before pitching in six more games in the Arizona Fall League. Gibson started 2013 in Rochester and todate has a 7-5 record with a 3.01 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 15 starts. Kyle has 2 complete games this season and has 79 KO’s in 92.2 innings.
Unless Gibson falls flat on his face, he is in the Twins rotation to stay. However; you have to remember that Gibson is coming off TJ surgery so the Twins have him on a pitch limit this season and although that number has not been announced, it is assumed to be around 130 innings. With almost 93 inning under his belt already, we will probably only see Gibson for about 40 innings over the remainder of this season so if he goes about 6 innings in each start, that is only 6 or 7 starts before packing it in for the season.
The 25 year-old 6’6″ and 210 lbs. righty will wear number 44 on the back of his Twins uniform when he debut’s against the Royals on Saturday. Glad to have you with the Twins Kyle and I hope your stay is a long one.