Waking Up in Chattanooga?

[stringer bell]

Many of us have been waiting for the Twins' top prospects to dominate in the minors this year.  So far, it has been hit and miss, with probably more misses than hits.  On top of the prospect list and on the list of disappointments is Byron Buxton.  He has been ranked the #1 prospect in the minors by many and consistently is in the top five.  So far, Buxton's numbers have been pedestrian (to be kind).  "Buck" currently has a .221 batting average and is sporting an OPS of .665, hardly numbers to be excited about.  However, after sitting out a couple of days, Buxton seems to be warming up.  In his last five games, he is 6-18, with a homer and five RBI.  He has stolen a base in each of the last three games and has walked five times, while striking out only once.  In this small sample, Buxton has reached base in 48% of his plate appearances and slugged .500.

 

I think the key numbers here are the walks and strikeouts.  In his first 54 PAs, he struck out 14 times and had four walks, so he's been much more selective and made contact.  Another ten games or so of similar production would make his numbers far less disappointing. 

 

Meanwhile, Miguel Sano has found Southern League pitching quite a puzzle so far.  He's also been out of the lineup some and is currently slashing a walk-enhanced .292/.333/.625.  His BB/K ratio is 11/20. 

 

I guess it will take some time to scrape off the rust for both of these prized prospects.

[Arak30s]

At least they are getting repetition, seeing the pitches on a daily bases attempting to shake off the rust. Others pitchers and position players sit on the bench and rust hoping for their earned opportunity.

 

[nytwinsfan]

Buxton is really heating up, and although Sano's Average and Power are way down, he's only striking out slightly more than normal compared to his own track record, and actually walking more than in the past.  Mostly his poor hitting is being driven by an absolutely dismal .154 BABIP. Some of that may be rust and not making great contact, but some of it is almost certainly bad luck. I am very confident that Sano will come around. The biggest thing is to keep/get his confidence up.

[prouster]

Byron Buxton's last eight games, according to Baseball Reference: .452/.526/.806. This includes two doubles, three triples, a home run, five stolen bases, and six walks to two strikeouts. He's tearing the cover off the ball at the moment. If he puts up even a fraction of this production over the next 1-2 months, then he'll be pounding on the proverbial door to the MLB team.

[prouster]

Of course, there is also Berrios to look forward to. Before tonight's start, he was sporting a 3.27 ERA (which I believe went up a tick) with 11.45 K/9 and 3.27 BB/9. The thing to remember with Berrios (as well as with Buxton, and somewhat with Sano), is that he is several years younger than his competitors. This is important--prospects are like kids, where a year or two can mean a significant difference in development. Sure, before Buxton's current hot streak, he wasn't putting up the eye popping numbers that Kris Bryant was in AAA, and Sano is still shaking off the rust despite putting up pretty solid power and BB numbers so far, but we have a lot to be excited about with this Chattanooga roster. Let's not forget guys like Jorge Polanco, ABW, Travis Harrison, Nick Burdi, Jake Reed, Tyler Duffey, and to possibly a lesser extent Dalton Hicks, Levi Michael, and Zack Jones. Plenty of promising young players to keep an eye on besides the blue chips.