Missouri righthander Kyle Gibson, the No. 4 prospect on BA’s Top 200 Draft Prospects list, has a stress fracture in his right forearm and will be shut down for six weeks. This obviously will affect him in Tuesday’s draft, when he was projected to go in the top half of the first round.■ Gibson suffers stress fracture (Columbia Tribune.com)
Gibson, who blamed a late-season drop in velocity to forearm tightness, will be shut down for six weeks.
The 6-foot-6, 208-pound pitcher from Greenfield, Ind., was expected to be selected in the top 10 picks of the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, which begins Tuesday. His draft stock could continue to fall before then, but he would be able to throw for whichever team selects him before the Aug. 15 signing deadline.
■ Can Gibson, Pirates connect? (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Perhaps most important, he plans to sign speedily. No holdouts or protracted negotiations as two University of Missouri pitchers before him -- Arizona's Max Scherzer (No. 11 in 2006 and signed hours before re-entering the 2007 draft) and Aaron Crow (No. 9 in 2008 by Washington but unsigned). Like Gibson, Crow is competing for one of the first-year player draft's top spots come Tuesday when the Pirates pick at No. 4 overall.
"I got nothing against those guys," Gibson said, punctuated with a laugh, over the telephone last week. "They had their own situations, they thought it was best to do that. In my situation, it's best to get going, sign and start playing. Hopefully get to the big leagues as fast as I can."
"One thing I can tell you: We're not in this to play any kind of game," added his father. "My son realizes how special this is. God has blessed him in many ways. There will be nothing from our side. We were concerned when Aaron didn't sign last year; that put two Missouri guys in a row -- Scherzer and Crow. That's not us. There are no demands. We don't have any demands. He just wants to play."
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