Cliff Notes: Brian Flynn Moving Up, Mason Williams Arrested, and Kyle Gibson Speaks

Fully recovered from Tommy John, Gibson says there are no restrictions on him this season. Image: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

At this point, I’m not sure we shouldn’t just re-name the site “We Love Miguel Sano dotcom.” I mean, I figure that roughly three out of four posts here at least mention him. I bring him up today only to note that Sano clubbed his eighth home run of the season at High-A Ft. Myers on Thursday as he continues to dominate the Florida State League.

I have doubts about how quickly the Twins will push him, though he’s certainly due for a promotion at some point relatively soon. Just in case though, I already picked him up in a dynasty league. Let’s get you caught up on the links…

Yankees prospect Mason Williams was arrested early Thursday morning after failing a field sobriety test in Tampa. Williams did pass a breathalyzer, but was taken into custody after traveling 10 mph over the speed limit and swerving in his lane at 2:45 am. MILB.com has the story.

Moving on to happier news, left hander Brian Flynn was by far the least heralded of the three young player that Miami got from the Tigers in last July’s Anibal Sanchez trade, but he’s proving to be anything but a throw-in on the deal. Flynn was recently promoted to Triple-A New Orleans and Marlin Maniac says we shouldn’t be surprised if Flynn makes his way to South Beach before the season is done.

This one is a couple of days old, but Christopher Fee of Twins Daily had a chance to catch up with right hander Kyle Gibson. Among the topic discussed were Gibson’s recovery from Tommy John surgery, his maturity over the years and the excitement of being one step away from the Show. It’s a good read and provides insight into what it takes to come back from a serious arm injury.

The other day, Phillies prospect Jesse Biddle fanned 16 at Double-A Reading and created quite a buzz for himself. In this day and age where prospects are often over hyped (and we are as guilty as anyone on that front), Justin Klugh of That Ball’s Outta Here takes issue with those in the Philadelphia media that have begun comparing him to Cole Hamels.

Bruce Rondon made his big league debut for the Tigers on Thursday and wound up taking a blown save. Rob Rogacki of Bless You Boys breaks down Rondon’s entire outing, including many GIFs to illustrate his points. From what I saw, Rondon got a little bit unlucky, but also was exposed by some rookie mistakes that the Royals took advantage of. The stuff was very good.

Finally, with the draft rapidly approaching, Baseball America‘s Conor Glassey ponders an interesting question: How hard is too hard when it comes to velocity and high school pitchers? Does a pitcher’s velocity indicate likeliness of a catastrophic arm injury? Also, does an elite fastball in high school predict MLB success? Excellent free content at BA.