Who Breaks Out For The Twins?

Sep 28, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (44) pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Starter: Kyle Gibson

Last season, no one in baseball had a bigger split between wins and losses than Gibson. The Twins former first round draft pick owned an ERA near 1.00 in games where he recorded a win, and saw it balloon to over 12.00 when tagged with a loss. Although his final ERA sat at 4.47, his FIP (fielding independent pitching) was more promising at 3.80. Now further distanced from Tommy John surgery, and with two major league seasons under his belt, look for the step forward to be big.

Gibson is never going to be a strikeout pitcher, but he should improve to being near a 6.0 K/BB ratio. Limiting and lowering his 2.9 BB/9 will help with that transition. Last season, Gibson struck out 107 batters, expecting that number to climb above 120 is realistic. His final ERA should be below four, and he could prove to be one of the Twins top three pitchers in 2015.