Aaron Crow:
Aaron Crow, the ninth overall pick last year of the Washington Nationals, will be following in the footsteps of his former teammate at Missouri, Max Scherzer, while pitching with the Fort Worth Cats.Kyle Gibson:
For Crow it came down to money, as he and the Nationals were reportedly several hundred thousand dollars apart as negotiations broke down before the August 15 signing deadline. He was tied for the nation lead in wins with 13 as part of a perfect 13-0 season for the Tigers. His availability gives the ’09 draft class yet another power arm, an area next year’s draft class has no shortage of talent.
The University of Missouri has produced some very promising right-handed pitchers in recent years, and Kyle Gibson poised to follow in the footsteps of Aaron Crow (profiled above) and Max Scherzer.
While Crow and Scherzer were praised for their fastballs, Gibson’s bread and butter is a nasty slider that is nearly unhittable. The only problem with his slider is that he can fall a little too in love with it at times. He does throw his fastball in the low-90s, with many expecting him to add velocity as he fills out his tall and lanky frame. However, the pitch can straighten out at times, and he can get in trouble when he catches too much of the strike zone, which causes him to nibble and fall back on his slider.
His slider and stature makes him a very similar prospect to Brad Lidge. Gibson will be given every opportunity to succeed as a starter as a professional, but like Lidge it would not surprise me if he eventually settled in as a dynamic closer.
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