Sports: Kibler's stock on the rise in minors

In 1999, the Times picked Kibler as a second-team all-county pitcher. Then, a few weeks later, the Rockies picked the King senior in the second round of the major-league draft.

Good thing the Rockies don't hang their hats on all-county teams.

Midway through his fourth minor-league season, Kibler has enjoyed more success than even he could have dreamed.

"Of course, I always dreamed of playing in the big leagues and doing this whole thing," Kibler said. "But no, I thought it might have been a long shot, maybe I had to go to college first and learn and get better that way.

"But no, I didn't think it would be this soon."

In his first three years of pro ball, Kibler, 21, shot through the Colorado farm system.

After a rough 2000, when he went 10-14 at low Class A Asheville, N.C., tying for the league lead in losses, he returned to Asheville in 2001. This time, he went 3-5 for the Tourists with a 2.93 ERA before getting a midseason promotion.

And then he really took off.

At advanced Class A Salem, Kibler went 7-0 with a 1.55 ERA in 11 games, earning another promotion. He followed that by overpowering Double-A hitters, too, going 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA to close out the season for Carolina of the Southern League.

Kibler had a streak of 17 straight starts without a loss and his combined ERA of 2.15 was best among Rockies' farmhands and seventh in the minors. "I knew it was possible, but I didn't exactly know how to do it," Kibler said. "About halfway through last year, I figured out how I can do it and was able to repeat everything I was doing inning after inning.

"And that's what gave me the good numbers last year, I was able to repeat everything pitch by pitch, inning by inning, game by game."

Not bad for a kid who wasn't even the top pitcher on his high school team after his junior year at King. The summer before his senior year, he was just another 6-foot-2, skinny pitcher. But by the end of that summer, he was 6-4 and 20 pounds heavier.

With his new frame, he went 6-4 with a 0.58 ERA his senior season, attracting Colorado's attention. Kibler joined former major-leaguer Derek Bell as the only King players chosen in the second round.

Following his breakout 2001, Baseball America tabbed Kibler the fourth-best prospect in the Colorado system. The Rockies named him their 2001 Minor League Pitcher of the Year and invited him to the major-league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Back at Carolina, though, he was winless in his first eight starts and spent time on the disabled list with a sprained thumb. Even worse, he watched as fellow top-five prospects Jason Young and Aaron Cook moved up to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

"It was frustrating," Kibler said. "It made me push myself to get back a little bit sooner than I wanted to.

"I probably got back two or three starts too soon and I wasn't at the level that I could have been if I was healthy."

After finally getting a win in his ninth start, Kibler's numbers were 1-1 with a 5.07 ERA.

"I think after last year he probably put a lot of pressure on himself," Carolina pitching coach Bryn Smith said. "He went to major-league spring training as an invitee and probably got caught up in a lot that stuff."

Kibler appears to have his focus back. With the win in Carolina's 5-2 victory against the Orlando Rays last week, he has won six straight starts and lowered his ERA to 4.01.

"Sky's the limit with him really," Smith said. "The biggest thing we're trying to do now is get that third pitch. He's got Maddux-like movement with his fastball. He's realized he doesn't have to throw hard.

"The trick with him is not throwing the same speed all the time and sometimes he tries to overdo it."

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