Twins pitching prospect Kyle Gibson continues to raise hope in the Arizona desert.
The 2009 first-round draft pick, who had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow on Sept. 7, 2011, had another strong start in the Arizona Fall League on Tuesday, holding the Mesa Solar Sox to one run on six hits over five innings, with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Gibson, who turns 25 next week, is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two starts, with no walks and 16 strikeouts. Keep in mind, this is usually a hitter friendly league, and typically features baseball's stars of tomorrow. Last year, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were both in the AFL -- on the same team.
Next year, the Twins will be as careful with Gibson as the Washington Nationals were Stephen Strasburg this year. Not to put those two in the same category, but the Nationals limited Strasburg to 160 innings in his first full year back from Tommy John surgery.
Still, the fact Gibson is back to dominant form, with his fastball reportedly touching 93-miles per hour, is a very encouraging sign for the Twins.
