Ryan Falla
The Cameron Gibbens stock grows higher and higher as the weeks go by with seemingly no end in sight. Just a few months ago Gibbens was just an undrafted overseas free agent signing at the age of 25 and today Gibbens is looking like the future of the Dodgers bullpen. Gibbens was called up to Double-A just a few days ago thanks to a season that’s seen him put up some of the best numbers across all of the Minor Leagues. He has a ridiculous 17.0 K/9 across 30 total innings split across Low-A and High-A. Another promising talent of Gibbens alongside the video game-looking strike-out numbers is his ability to limit the long ball, giving up just one HR across 30.2 innings of play prior to his Double-A debut. All in all, this was done while maintaining a 1.17 ERA across his outings.
Now that he has officially made his Double-A debut, which came as a beautiful 2 IP performance that saw Gibbens blaze his high-speed fastball through established Minor League hitters, all eyes will be on him to see how his development ramps up. I might add that the opposing offense had already racked up 7 runs on the Dodgers Double-A affiliate the Tulsa Drillers. It’s impressive enough to strike out more than half the hitters you face in your first showing at a new league, but to do so against a lineup hot enough to put up 7 runs shows that Gibbens has the talent and the grit needed to put down a feasting lineup. That sounds like something that will come very handy with the Dodgers bullpen potentially this season at the earliest
Cameron Gibbens' 4 Ks from his perfect 2.0 IP debut for AA Tulsa. Ascending from Low A to AA in a single minor league season is always noteworthy, but doing so in a shortened season with 7 weeks to go yet, it certainly stands out. Congrats on the successful AA debut, Cameron! pic.twitter.com/iJspnphqPY
— Josh Thomas (@jokeylocomotive) August 4, 2021
The likelihood that we see Gibbens make his Major League debut sometime this season grows as the weeks go by and as long as he continues to perform such as he did in his Double-A debut there is no doubt that Gibbens will be a Dodger soon. The Major League squad will need all the bullpen help they can get heading into the playoff stretch especially when it comes to ensuring there is proper support in the back-end of the bullpen. Gibbens has been pitching out of the set-up/closer role through his Minor League journey so far and while roles aren’t as defined in the MiLB as they are in the MLB the pressures of late-inning pitching stays the same. I would look for Gibbens to make his MLB debut sometime later this year with a defined back-end role carved out for him by 2022. The future is bright for the Dodgers bullpen, and that future starts with Cameron Gibbens.
