Twins general manager Terry Ryan said inconsistency is why the club decisided to call up Samuel Deduno and P.J. Walters ahead of top prospect Kyle Gibson, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Gibson has a 3.25 ERA and 3.3 K/BB over nine starts (52 2/3 innings) at Triple-A Rochester. But he has yet to have consecutive quality starts. His last three starts have seen a complete game shutout, a three-inning disaster (seven hits, four earned runs) and another complete game shutout.
"Every start for him is important, and so far he’s been good, bad, good, bad, good, bad. He’s close, but he’s not quite there yet. We’re looking for him to string together four or five of those good one. That would give us confidence that it’s time for him to come up here," Ryan said.
Gibson can pitch well enough to make his way to Minnesota this season, but if he needs to make three or four consecutive sharp starts, he's at least a few weeks away.