Byron Buxton needs a nickname.

 

BB and Buck are waaaay too obvious, but you've got lots of other easy candidates with a name like that. You've got ByBu, BuBy, B Squared, ByBux (goodbye to all those bucks), Byrooooon, etc. So many alliterations. Even RonTon works, a little.

 

Or we could wind up calling him (Thumb). The parentheses indicate all those little injuries that keep happening to Buxton, resulting from his tendency to crash into things at high speed, WITH NO GLOVES. For all his immense physical talents, Buxton appears to lack the tool for self-preservation. Apparently the Twins minor league system has no training for how to roll off walls instead of smashing into them, or how to slide into a base without mashing a finger.

 

Who taught Buxton to steal bases? He doesn't appear to know how to read a pitcher's move as well as an average high schooler. He doesn't get a walking lead, doesn't do skips, doesn't even keep his feet moving. He stands there like a statue, relying on nothing but his natural speed...which at the mlb level just isn't enough. That's why his steal percentage was shockingly bad before the injury.

 

Luckily, the thumb is healing. Now, will somebody teach (Thumb) how to read a move and do a hook slide?

I read he's going to wear gloves on the bases now but he's still pretty raw imo.

 

I'm not sure how the coaches failed to tell him how to take a lead and steal bases but they did.

 

And his hitting leaves something to be desired to this point. Triple A seems to be the best place for him.

Its difficult to train good habits when someone doesn't need good habits to succeed. Byron could run at will on almost anyone in the minors. I expect he'll get a tough lesson from MLB pitcher/catcher tandems and learn from it quickly.