By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
06/09/09 8:30 PM ET
OAKLAND -- The Twins got the top-of-the-line college starter that they were looking for as they selected right-hander Kyle Gibson out of the University of Missouri with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday (June 9, 2009).
Gibson went 11-3 with a 3.21 ERA in his junior yea for Missouri this season, helping the Tigers to their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. He earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors and struck out 131 batters, tying the school record, in 106 2/3 innings.
Gibson, 6-foot-6, 208 pounds, was ranked the fourth overall prospect in this year’s Draft by Baseball America and was originally expected to be taken in the top 10. But his stock fell after he was recently diagnosed with a stress fracture in his forearm that is expected to sideline him for several weeks. Gibson’s injury could be an explanation for why the velocity on his fastball dropped from the low 90s to the low 80s in his final two starts for Missouri.
Gibson is said to have above-average command of three pitches -- fastball, changeup and slider -- and that is a definite plus for the Twins.
* Kyle is also on the Bandits Wall of Fame as a gifted member and son of a founder of the Bandits Baseball Club and President, Harold Gibson.
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