The Twins have selected injured University of Missouri righthander Kyle Gibson with the 22nd overall pick of the Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft.
Gibson was ranked as the fourth-best prospect by Baseball America but his velocity had dipped in recent outings before he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his forearm.
Gibson, who was interviewed by the MLB Network right after the pick, was up front with his condition.
“The reason we were so open with it is because they was stuff out there about Tommy John surgery,” he said.
He said he thinks it was the right thing to do.“I think it worked out for the best,” he said, “and I’m proud to be a Twin.”
Gibson is expected to miss four to six weeks because  of the injury - but said he planned on taking that time off after the season anyway.
Twins scouting director Deron Johnson acknowledged earlier this week that the club was searching for as much medical information as it could find on Gibson, so they were prepared.
Gibson is listed at 6 feet, 6 inches and 208 pounds. He throws a lot of sinkers but can hit 94 miles an hour on the radar gun with his four-seam fastball. And he has the command of his pitches that the Twins like to see. He was 10-3 with a 3.47 ERA for the Tigers this year. In 99 innings, Gibson walked just 18 batters and struck out 123.

The Twins have a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds, No. 46 overall.

Update: Here’s what Baseball America had to say about Gibson: 

 For the third time in four years, Missouri will have a pitcher taken early in the first round. Gibson doesn’t have the arm strength of Max Scherzer (2006, Diamondbacks) or Aaron Crow (2008, Nationals), but he may wind up being the best pitcher of the three. He relies on two-seam fastballs more than four-seamers, usually pitching at 88-91 mph with good sink and tailing action, though he can reach back for 94 mph when needed. He has two of the better secondary pitches in the draft, a crisp 82-85 mph slider and a deceptive changeup with fade that can generate swings and misses. All of his offerings play up because he has excellent command and pitchability. He repeats his smooth delivery easily, and his 6-foot-6, 208-pound frame allows him to throw on a steep downhill plane. If there’s a knock on Gibson, it’s that he hasn’t added much velocity during his three years with the Tigers, but that hasn’t stopped him from succeeding as soon as he stepped on campus. He led Team USA’s college team with five wins last summer, including a victory in the gold-medal game at the the FISU World Championships. He is a lock to go in the first 10 picks

Here’s my latest attempt to successfully link to a Indianapolis Star article. This about local boy Gibson. It mentions his agent, whose name I don’t recognize.

Deron Johnson, the Twins scouting director, Mike Radcliff, the Twins VP in charge of player personnel, senior adviser Terry Ryan and a team of area scouts and other  have met at the Dome over the past week to prepare for Tuesday’s draft.

This year’s draft could be more unpredictable than recent ones. Last year, everyone had an idea of who would be in the top ten. It hasn’t been as clear this year, although if you subscribe to Baseball America or have an ESPN insider account there seems to be a consensus building on a few top prospects.

That makes it even more  unclear what the Twins might do with pick Nos. 22 and 46 - the second pick is in the supplemental round.

One interesting player is Stanford reliever Drew Storen. Baseball America has him ranked as the 36th best prospect in the draft, but he’s got helium. The Twins definitely are on Storen and have been in contact with his family. Here’s the problem: Storen might be gone by the time the Twins’ turn comes - he’s reportedly worked out for the Nationals, who have the No. 10 pick.

According to BA, Storen’s fastball has been clocked in the 92-94 range and can touch 95-96. His slider is considered a plus pitch.

For more  on Storen, check this out.

Here are some other players that the Twins have been connected to:

Bobby Borchering, 3B, Bishop Verot High, Fort Myers, Fla: It’s safe bet that the Twins have watched this kid develop every spring training. He great size - he’s 6-4 and 200 pounds - and hit seven homers during a nine-game stretch this season.

Jared Mitchell, OF, LSU: He played baseball and football for the Tigers and was a reserve on the 2007 national championship football team. There’s a belief that the Twins won’t take another outfielder high because they have Ben Revere and Aaron Hicks in the system. But the Twins drafted Mitchell out of high school when he dropped because of signability issues. That’s the only reason I suggest we keep an eye out for him.

Matt Hobgood, RHP, Norco (Calif.) High: His size jumps out - he’s listed at 6-4 and 245 pounds. He’s hit 92-94  on the gun late in games and throws a curve, slider and change. Definitely a power prospect but his command needs to improve.

Again, when you’re drafting 22 you’ve got to see how things shake out leading up to that pick. Given how teams have had trouble figuring out the top ten picks, things will be unpredictable throughout that first round. For instance, Missouri righthander Kyle Gibson is ranked No. 4 but his bonus demands might cause him to drop to the end of the first round. Gibson also has an arm injury. Would the Twins give him a shot? They have looked  into his medical situation.

Gopher fans might want to watch where second baseman Derek McCallum lands. There’s at least one Twins official who is very, very high on McCallum. BA has him ranked as the 136th best prospect but he might be selected before that. It would not surprise me if the Twins take him with pick No. 46.

For background, here are recent No. 22 picks, and what they signed for:

2008: Reese Havens, SS, Mets,    $1.419 million

2007: Tim Alderson, RHP, Giants, 1.290

2006: Colton Willems, RHP, Wash  1.425

2005: Aaron Thompson, LHP, FLA  1.225

2004: Glen Perkins, LHP, Twins, 1.425

2003: David Aardsma, Giants, 1.425

Note: The Twins took Matt Moses at No. 21 that year. The next three picks were Aardsma, Brandon Wood and Chad Billingsley.

2002: Jeremey Guthrie, Indians, 3.00

2001: Jason Bulger, D-Backs, 950,000

The draft begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday with the first three rounds. Round one will be televised on MLB.TV. Rounds 4-30 will take place on Wednesday and rounds 31-50 on Wednesday.

Jim Mandelaro of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has sent word that the Twins have promoted righthander Rob Delaney to Class AAA Rochester. In 26 games, Delaney was 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA. In 36 innings, he walked six, struck out 40 and gave up 32 hits. Opponents were batting .242 against him.

Delaney took part in his first major league spring training camp this year, giving up two runs in four innings of work.

A spot for Delaney opened up when lefthander Mike Gosling took advantage of an out clause in his contract and got his release. He was the classic vulture, going 7-1 with a 4.37 ERA in 21 games -all in relief. He was tied for the international league lead in wins.

But first, how about the Twins pitching staff?

While Joe C. and I tracked the Twins’ search for third base help during the offseason, a few of you were concerned about the search for relief help. Clearly, the Twins weren’t aiming high. The free agent market wasn’t deep.  They didn’t look into signing Juan Cruz until the league adjusted it’s sign-and-trade rules, and then only offered a one year contract.

The Twins signed Luis Ayala, who has proven that his best role is to not pitch in the eighth inning. Most staffs have pitchers like that - but problem is that he doesn’t solve the Twins problems.

The eighth-inning problem is as big as ever and threatens to ruin the season - again.

Will the Twins look for help before the trade deadline? I’m sure they will.

They’ll sniff around this guy some more. He’s got his velocity up. Word is that you don’t want to look at the MRI  - but that was also the case with Dennys Reyes.

The bullpen could hinge on if the Twins get Juan Morillo to refine his control at Rochester and get back up here. I have absolutely NO confidence that they will be able to deal for credible relief help.

My concern isn’t just with the bullpen. The Twins don’t have a clear No. 1 starter - and might not have a No. 2 Francisco Liriano is the closest thing they have to a No. 2 but he’s still a work in progress.  Right now, it looks like the Twins have a bunch of mid-rotation starters trying to keep their heads above water.

And the Twins don’t have anyone in the minors who projects as a front of the rotation stud. Carlos Gutierrez might be the closest they have to one - but he could end up as a reliever. Tyler Robertson? Maybe? Looks like an area that needs to be addressed starting with next month’s draft.

Speaking of the minors - boy, that was a long intro….

Shooter Hunt, the 31st overall pick last year, has been sent to extended spring training with a, ahem, groin injury. This will give him time to work on his control.

Righthander Ben Hendrickson, a St. Cloud native, has been assigned to Class AAA Rochester to replace Anthony Swarzak. He signed with the Twins in spring training and has been working out at extended spring training.

Class A Fort Myers outfielder Ben Revere was named Florida State League player of the week last week after hitting .625.

Ramon Santana, who recently came off the DL, was 3-for-4 yesterday with a homer and 4 RBI as Class A Beloit beat Fort Wayne 14-9.

The Twins have promoted third baseman Nick Romero to Fort Myers. Third baseman Deibinson Romero is already there, which was a head-scratcher. But I was told that Nick Romero also plays shortstop (didn’t know that) and will play some short at Fort Myers since Estarlin De Los Santos is back on the DL.

De Los Santos is supposed to be a pretty good prospect but is struggling with injuries.

Let’s see if Joe C. can get the lads to win one today before I get my hands on this club tomorrow for the first of three against the team from Milwaukee - you know, that Chicago suburb….

We begin this week’s edition with a little rant.

Don’t know if any of you noticed, but lefthander Ben Julianel was released from Class AAA Rochester to make room for Alexi Casilla. Rochester had 13 pitchers on its roster, so no big deal there.

The problem is that Julianel was a reason why Anthony Slama wasn’t promoted to Class AA New Brtiain last year. Julianel was 28 years old last year while pitching in the Eastern League. Slama was 24 and toying with Florida State League hitters. Both should have been one level higher.

Last year, Rochester had three lefties in the bullpen - Mariano Gomez, Carmen Cali and Ricky Barrett. Cali already had his shot with the big club and didn’t gain the confidence of the coaching staff. None of those lefties are in the organization now - and Julianel is gone, too.

I keep being told that I’m off base with this argument, but Julianel should have been moved to Rochester so Slama could have been in New Britain last year, with a chance to be at Rochester now. With the Twins trying to stabilize their bullpen, it makes sense to me that they should put their prospects on line to help this year - especially when they are 24 years old and dominating in A-ball.

They did call Jose Mijares up from New Britain. Will they do that with Slama?

Slama is 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA at New Britain and has converted five of seven save opportunities. Those numbers look good to me - but I’m not a farm director.

REVERE HAS A SORE KNEE

Class A Fort Myers outfielder Ben Revere had surgery last August to remove particles from his left knee. He’s been having trouble with the same knee, which is why he’s missed some recent games. Revere is batting .308 with 15 steals in 21 attempts in 29 games.

Jim Rantz, the Twins’ director of minor leagues, said that Revere should return to action soon.

 ETC.

New Britain third baseman Danny Valencia missed a few games last week with a sore wrist but has returned to action.

Heard that Aaron Hicks, the Twins’ first-round pick last year, is batting .300 in extended spring training games. “He’ll move fast soon enough,” Rantz said. Here’s another case where you wonder why the Twins don’t have him at Beloit now. But I’m sure the Twins wanted to give all those power hitters at E-Town last year a shot at Beloit first. They aren’t hitting that well now - Angel Morales, a top prospect, is batting .183 -  but I guess Hicks can work on things at extended spring training before he goes to short-season ball and dominates. 

Catcher Danny Lehmann was sent to New Britain while Wilson Ramos recovers from the his broken left index finger. Scott Baker was impressed with Lehmann’s catching ability when he pitched for Fort Myers last month during a rehab stint.

Baker also praised second  baseman Steve Singleton, who got off to a fast start but is down to .232 now.