A surprising season for the Minnesota Twins just took another fun turn. The Twins announced Saturday they're promoting top prospect Byron Buxton from Double-A Chattanooga. A 21-year-old outfielder with speed, decent batting eye and developing power, Buxton might be the franchise's centerpiece for years to come. Buxton is expected to join the Twins at Texas on Sunday. Here's what you need to know about Buxton and the Twins.
1. He enters a pretty good overall situation
The timing of his promotion seems right, given how well the Twins have played in 2015, and how much improvement Buxton has shown in the minors. The Twins trailed Texas 11-3 on Saturday at the time of the Buxton announcement, but they came in with a 33-27 record, good for second place in the AL Central, after finishing last three of the four previous years, never winning more than 70 games. There's still 100 or so games to go in the season, so the Twins might backslide, but Buxton is being placed into a situation where he can try to help a team that's already contending. The early returns on Paul Molitor as a manager are great, too.
2. The Twins need his help
The Twins have been astonishingly bad in center field this season. Their center fielders -- Shane Robinson, Jordan Schafer and Aaron Hicks -- have posted a .291 on-base percentage and a .292 slugging percentage this season. Being a rookie, Buxton probably could do worse if he struggles -- but not much worse.
3. Buxton has a variety of skills
His top asset is speed, but he's not like Ben Revere or even Denard Span (speedy Twins products of the past who played center field). He's 92 of 118 in stealing bases for his career, a 78 percent success rate.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press recently noted about Buxton:
"It is like a cartoon watching him run,” said Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony, who recently spent a week in Chattanooga scouting the club. “You think there’s going to be music or something. People get on their feet. They’re excited. If he hits it in the gap, they’re waiting to see if it’s going to be a triple or what.”
Buxton might not have the raw power of someone such as Kris Bryant or Miguel Sano (Buxton's teammate at Chattanooga), but he seems like the kind who will hit for more power once he develops. He already can do a little bit of everything. At Chattanooga this season, Buxton has batted .283 with six homers, 13 triples and 20 stolen bases. He came in a .296 career hitter in three-plus minor league seasons, but his .380 on-base percentage indicates somebody with strike zone knowledge. He's got a good arm, too, already posting nine assists.
Byron Buxton will make his MLB debut at 21 years and 178 days old. After slow start at Double-A he hit .310/.379/.540 in his final 46 games.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 13, 2015
4. He's faced some adversity already and come through it
Taken with the second overall pick in 2012, Buxton was the consensus minor-league player of the year in 2013, but sustained injuries that limited him to 31 games in 2014. He tried playing with a wrist injury, and his season ended in August with a concussion. These aren't the most challenging hurdles, but they're hardly insignificant. And look at him now, less than a year later: in the majors.
5. He kills left-handed pitching, but...
For the year, Buxton is hitting .341 with an .886 OPS in 41 at-bats against left-handers, the Pioneer Press notes. Against right-handers he is hitting .259 with a .793 OPS in 189 at-bats. So he has some developing to do against most of the league's pitchers, who are right-handed.
It's a bold move by the Twins, who were able to wait until Buxton bypassed the Super Two window, which relates to when his salary arbitration clock begins. It basically means the will be able to save money, which while annoying for their fans to hear, isn't a small consideration. The timing seems right to give Buxton a shot, and if he's right, he might be one of the best players in the league very quickly.
