Forget Stephen Strasburg, give me Kyle Gibson!

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was sorting out some Life issues this past week. Needless to say, there should be plenty of time for new posts in the weeks to come...

I was expecting a slight derailment on the Kyle Gibson express that rolled through Fort Myers on its way to New Britain, Connecticut, but to my surprise, the train kept chugging along. This time it was the Harrisburg Senators who were caught with their foot in the tracks.

Gibson tossed 7 1/3 brilliant innings on his way to a 6-0 route of Harrisburg in his Double-A debut Saturday night. He struck out 10, breaking his previous career record of 8 strikeouts while at High-A Fort Myers. Gibson had been promoted to New Britain after a sparkling stretch in the Florida State League, going a combined 4-1 with one shutout, a 1.87 ERA and 40 strikeouts. Between Fort Myers and New Britain, he's posted a 5-1 record with a 1.60 ERA and 50 strikeouts.

Normally I would have waited to see how Gibson responded after a real rough outing before singing my praises; however, he hasn't done anything but get people out. Although that rough outing is sure to happen in the future, it's more than exciting for Twins fans who haven't seen a true #1 in the rotation since Johan Santana (apologies to Franky Liriano, who may have a claim to this title if he hadn't had the TJ surgery). Gibson is still a decent ways away from the big league roster, but if this production continues, he may be looking at Target Field sometime in 2011.

Gibson had been overshadowed in the 2009 MLB draft by consensus #1 pick Stephen Strasburg out of San Diego State University. The talk in Washington was that Strasburg was so good that not only would he resurrect the struggling Nationals and their fan base, but also would fix the economy, run for President, and use his 101 MPH fastball to shoot down incoming missiles from Iran. Word on the street is the C.I.A. used Strasburg in what appeared to be a failed attempt at restoring balance in Cuba. Strasburg went #1 as expected, but an arm injury to Gibson left several teams afraid to invest in the 6'6'' 208 lb right-hander from Missouri. He fell into the Twins lap at #22 and they grabbed him without hesitation. Long story short, Gibson found out the injury that so many feared as a potential TJ surgery was just a stress fracture in his forearm. The Twins had lucked out.

The report on Gibson's stuff was that he brought a low 90's fastball with a nice sink and pinpoint control. His slider had alot of bite, clocking in around 81-84 MPH with an-above average sink. His changeup was right around the same speed, with great control and a nice delivery. The only real concern was that the breaking ball would take some time to become as consistent as the fastball and changeup.

So far, all the reports on Gibson have been stellar. While he's still a good full season or so away from the big leagues, he's providing a glimpse of the Twins future that is sure to involve Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, and hopefully Brian Duensing. While that certainly isn't a starting five that makes teams lose sleep, it has the makings of a well-balanced rotation that throws strikes and keeps the Twins in games late.

The true test, as stated before, will be the rebound outing for Gibson. Some may argue that his debut at Fort Myers was his rough outing, but any season debut should be taken with a grain of salt. It'll be interesting to see his production at Double-A once teams get a second chance at him and he's forced to make adjustment. Regardless, Gibson is the guy to watch over the next 18 months, not Aaron Hicks. With Carl Pavano certainly gone after the season, Twins fans may want to circle their calendar for June 2011. Yeah, I'm throwing my guess out there, pending a healthy year for Gibson at New Britain.

I'm sure Strasburg will be shining in the nation's capital in a few weeks, but for the Twins, grabbing a guy with Gibson's talent at a reduced price is enough to make them salivate. I think we all look forward to welcoming Mr. Gibson at Target Field in 2011.