Kyle Gibson injured, could slide in draft

buy Tess Per Will Carroll, Missouri hurler Kyle Gibson, the #4 ranked draft prospect according to BA, has suffered a stress fracture in his right forearm, and could possibly drop out of the top 10.  Gibson throws a low-90′s fastball with good command and movement along with a plus slider and a good changeup.  In his last outing, however, Gibson was only hitting the mid-80′s with his fastball, which is indicative of an injury.  This does not seem like a major injury in the long term (Keith Law indicates that there’s no ligament damage), and should only keep him out 5 weeks.  It is worthy of note that Gibson has had very high pitch counts this season, which could explain the injury.

Gibson, before this injury, was a likely top-10 pick, and it will be interesting to see how far he falls in the draft.  I would be surprised if he got out of the first round, and I would have to imagine the Yankees would be interested if he were to fall to #29.  That said, Tanner Scheppers had a similar injury last season (in the shoulder, albeit, not the forearm).  Scheppers fell into the 2nd round, where he was taken by the Pirates (who were unable to sign him).  Gibson will probably still demand an overslot bonus even if he falls to the bottom of the 1st round, so it will be interesting to see if anyone takes a flier on him in the 1st.  He would be very high on my wish list of people who could fall to 29, possibly ahead of Matt Purke.

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