Article: Byron Buxton Recalled

[Vanimal46]

No harm in seeing what he's learned and what improvements he's made over the next 2 weeks. If he's still struggling, then he'll be sent down again once D Santana is healthy. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

If it was a two week check in, that is not the end of the world. But this is a team that had both Gomez and Hicks, guys the franchise desperately wanted to succeed up here for a year or two when they weren't ready. This looks more like history repeating

 

Like it or not, the starting CF is hurt and I think there would be a lot more consternation of Maestro spent every day of those 2 weeks manning CF.  I'll believe it's more of the same if Buxton is doing poorly and not immediately sent down when Santana comes off the DL.  There is no harm in a 2 week cup of coffee, especially if he's playing every day. 

[HitInAPinch]

"Regardless of his offensive contributions, he bring an immediate upgrade defensively to the Twins lineup, as his play and range in center field was solid even during his offensive struggles. "

 

No.  Cheap excuse for his lack of hitting in the MLB. D. Santana may have some issues defensively, but not completely horrible.  A .260 BA is palatable for a guy predicted to be in the "super-sub" catagory.

 

Issues:

 

1. MiLB numbers, Fantastic!  SSS, 29 Games, 116 AB's. 
2. Buxton's perchance for injuries is a big issue.  ++AB's in the MiLB are needed to determine if he will be durable enough for the Twins needs.
3. I also believe it's a "comfort thing" for Buxton:  a "self inflicted pressure" thing.  A recent article on the MiLB.com drew some attention to this. 

I'm actually surprised they haven't been searching for another Grossman/Mastroianni-type to fill in.

 

Left out 4.  I really, really hope I'm wrong and Buxton stays healthy and he's learned his lessons in MiLB and translates it to MLB success!!

[Mike Sixel]

Well, this is a sticky one.....

 

On the one hand, I'm not sure 1 month is a lot of time to "fix" him. I had been saying keep him down for another month or so, and then call him up (assuming he's hitting well) and see what you have. Really, it needs to be about the long term.

 

On the other hand....he is on the 40 man, their "CF" is hurt, and he's the best fielding CF they have. I just want the manager to play him every day, and see what is changed or not. 

[Riverbrian]

 

I think people are over-estimating the whole leg-kick thing.  It isn't much more than a timing mechanism.  The light-switch for Puckett turned on when he started using one.  Maybe it's changing Buxton's perchance to lunge at low and away pitches?

 

And, of course, this doesn't work for everyone.  Sano has a big ( HUGE ) upper cut and has had a horrible start.  After he worked with Bruno and Hernandez,  the change made was the opposite of the leg-kick:  They worked to quiet down his movement in the batters box and, well he's on a tear.

 

Dozier:  looks like a brain transplant is necessary.  With leg-kick    

 

 

Jackie Bradley Jr. looked lost at the plate and K'd a bunch as well. 

 

Then he stopped and all is well. 

[Riverbrian]

 

Like it or not, the starting CF is hurt and I think there would be a lot more consternation of Maestro spent every day of those 2 weeks manning CF.  I'll believe it's more of the same if Buxton is doing poorly and not immediately sent down when Santana comes off the DL.  There is no harm in a 2 week cup of coffee, especially if he's playing every day. 

 

I have no problem with the call up. This is how the 40 man is supposed to work and I'm hopeful Buxton impresses and sticks. 

 

I also agree with Tobi... Our front office has a terrible track record with OF assessment. 

[Platoon]

Two points. I can't say I follow other teams moves, so maybe this is more widespread than I know. That said, almost all Twins moves are reactionary. Barring an injury, it's very difficult to lose your job once you get ensconced as a regular. Also, in a perfect world Buxton could have easily used another month in Rochester. But the Twins perfect world evaporated with decisions made late in 2015. The Twins are so far past painting themselves in a corner, they are now standing on the top of the paint can, while needing to go to the bathroom. Btw, hit Buxton nine, reducing the pressure for now is more important than more AB's, or a Twins win!

[tobi0040]

Like it or not, the starting CF is hurt and I think there would be a lot more consternation of Maestro spent every day of those 2 weeks manning CF.  I'll believe it's more of the same if Buxton is doing poorly and not immediately sent down when Santana comes off the DL.  There is no harm in a 2 week cup of coffee, especially if he's playing every day.

We are going to have to respecfully disagree. Would there be a few posts about not calling up red hot Buxton from AAA? Sure. Opinions vary. But it seems like the prevailing opinion here is Buxton should have at least two more weeks in AAA. Some more like a month. And a few think all year.

 

The season is over. I think you keep a guy like Mastro around for this exact reason. A place holder. You have an injury, you aren't competitive, and your prospect is not quite ready

[brvama]

Well, this is a sticky one.....

 

On the one hand, I'm not sure 1 month is a lot of time to "fix" him. I had been saying keep him down for another month or so, and then call him up (assuming he's hitting well) and see what you have. Really, it needs to be about the long term.

 

On the other hand....he is on the 40 man, their "CF" is hurt, and he's the best fielding CF they have. I just want the manager to play him every day, and see what is changed or not.

 

Totally agree!

[Deduno Abides]

Our front office has a terrible track record with PLANNING AND assessment.

 

Ftfy

[Monkeypaws]

Still don't see how mashing away at AAA is gonna help him figure out how to hit major league pitching.

[nicksaviking]

 

I think people are over-estimating the whole leg-kick thing. 

 

I hope not because I've got a bunch of pro-leg-kick posts dating back to last summer that I'm waiting to queue up and act all high and mighty about.

[Loosey]

I don't like this move.  I think he was really getting into a groove, gaining confidence and from what I have heard beginning to understand a breaking ball.  I am in the camp that he should have stayed in AAA longer so these things he has learned became 2nd nature to him and he didn't have to think at the plate.  If he comes up and looks the same do they send him down again or do they keep him up just because?

 

I am hoping the Twins have told him this is a 15 DL fill-in and they know he isn't quite 100% ready for the big leagues.  Once Santana is ready they are going to send him back to AAA for little while longer to finish up his fine tuning, then the NEXT TIME he is called up will be for good.

 

Hopefully this will take any self-induced pressure he seems to put on himself and he can just go play baseball.  Then if he tears the cover off the ball maybe he forces the Twins into making a decision of keeping him up or sending down still.

[nicksaviking]

Buck made a comment previously that he felt comfortable in AAA playing with friends.

 

I'm normally in favor of letting guys toughen up at the MLB level, but they've already tried that a few times with Buxton. I would have liked to have seen him recalled along with Kepler, Polanco, Vargas and/or other players who could at least give the perception of shouldering the burden with Buxton. Even if all of the pressure is actually on Buxton alone, I don't think he'd feel that way if he was promoted with a buddy.

 

And I don't really care if there isn't room for the buddies, they can make room pretty easy with this roster.

[mazeville]

The problem here isn't that the Twins have called up Buxton -- he's dominating AAA now and if he hadn't had his two appearances in the majors people would have been screaming for his promotion. 

 

The problem is the way the Twins handled him up until now. They called him up too early last year. They handed him the CF job after trading Aaron Hicks (and not Trevor Plouffe). The whole thing has been an ugly mess. 

 

Hopefully, he gets it and plays well enough to stay. That's what I'm going to hope for. I'm not going to count on Buxton having a .900 OPS. But I will be thrilled if he can hit .250 with a few doubles and triples and stolen bases, but with world caliber defense and a style of play that makes the Twins more exciting. 

[Halsey Hall]

I'm in the camp where more time in AAA would be best. However, he's needed now so the hand is forced. However, as another pointed out, let him know they're pleased with his progress and this is just a temporary move, don't give up your apartment in Rochester. 

[gil4]

 

This better be for good. If they yank him around again, I don't know what insanity will take over me.

 

Posting at 2:14 AM - the insanity is striking in advance

[Riverbrian]

 

The problem here isn't that the Twins have called up Buxton -- he's dominating AAA now and if he hadn't had his two appearances in the majors people would have been screaming for his promotion. 

 

The problem is the way the Twins handled him up until now. They called him up too early last year. They handed him the CF job after trading Aaron Hicks (and not Trevor Plouffe). The whole thing has been an ugly mess. 

 

Hopefully, he gets it and plays well enough to stay. That's what I'm going to hope for. I'm not going to count on Buxton having a .900 OPS. But I will be thrilled if he can hit .250 with a few doubles and triples and stolen bases, but with world caliber defense and a style of play that makes the Twins more exciting. 

Yep

 

The Twins have needed a big league OF for 4 years now. If they would have got one in the off season. 

 

Buxton could have started in AAA and could have been called up if he is hitting AAA like he is now and welcomed to the league with a chorus of voices saying "Finally!!!". 

 

That's what should have happened but it didn't because the Twins have horribly assessed CF for 4 years straight now. 

 

[alarp33]

 

"Regardless of his offensive contributions, he bring an immediate upgrade defensively to the Twins lineup, as his play and range in center field was solid even during his offensive struggles. "

 

No.  Cheap excuse for his lack of hitting in the MLB. D. Santana may have some issues defensively, but not completely horrible.  A .260 BA is palatable for a guy predicted to be in the "super-sub" catagory.

 

Issues:

 

1. MiLB numbers, Fantastic!  SSS, 29 Games, 116 AB's. 
2. Buxton's perchance for injuries is a big issue.  ++AB's in the MiLB are needed to determine if he will be durable enough for the Twins needs.
3. I also believe it's a "comfort thing" for Buxton:  a "self inflicted pressure" thing.  A recent article on the MiLB.com drew some attention to this. 

I'm actually surprised they haven't been searching for another Grossman/Mastroianni-type to fill in.

 

Left out 4.  I really, really hope I'm wrong and Buxton stays healthy and he's learned his lessons in MiLB and translates it to MLB success!!

 

So the MiLB numbers are SSS, but the MLB numbers (spread over 3 stints) he's had thus far aren't?

 

FWIW, Danny Santana has nearly an identical OPS as Buxton since the beginning of 2015.   

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

We are going to have to respecfully disagree. Would there be a few posts about not calling up red hot Buxton from AAA? Sure. Opinions vary. But it seems like the prevailing opinion here is Buxton should have at least two more weeks in AAA. Some more like a month. And a few think all year.

The season is over. I think you keep a guy like Mastro around for this exact reason. A place holder. You have an injury, you aren't competitive, and your prospect is not quite ready

 

I won't argue with you on the front office track record here, they should have never went north with him to begin with.  I don't have too much of an issue with a 2 week cup of coffee though, if that's all it is.  But then again, I think he needs more than 2 more weeks in AAA.  I do hope though that we see an improved Buxton.  I'd call it a win if he came up and just took good at bats, even if the results didn't show. 

[d-mac]

 

If Buxton hits, it's all a non-issue, correct?   Between the injuries and non-hitting, I don't fault management a lot. 

 

The problem is not whether or not he hits. The problem is how they treat their prospects. The problem is the process, not the result. By rushing contact challenged hitters through the upper minors they are not putting them in a position to succeed.

[d-mac]

Buxton has been really hitting the snot out of the baseballs down in AAA. Plus he's cutting down his K%, while increasing his BB% on a week-to-week basis. Looks from here like he is making the correct adjustments.

 

The problem is that 137 PAs is an awfully short time in AAA- likely too short to become ingrained in his muscle memory. I just hope that bringing him up so quickly isn't going to undo all that he has learned.

[DaveW]

I think bringing him up is a great move. You should reward guys for playing well in AAA, especially guys who are the future of this team.

Hopefully this third time is a charm for Byron and he sticks in the majors for the next 15+ years

[Dantes929]

Reading these pages the last several years there is a pretty clear consensus.     Twins are the slowest team in the majors to promote their top prospects to the big leagues.    They should promote their young stars and let them learn at the big league level.   The top prospects they do promote, they promote too soon and for the wrong reasons. and hinder their development by letting them fail at the big league level.

Personally, I am ok with this move since I didn't really want him sent down in the first place.      

[Loosey]

 

Buxton has been really hitting the snot out of the baseballs down in AAA. Plus he's cutting down his K%, while increasing his BB% on a week-to-week basis. Looks from here like he is making the correct adjustments.

 

The problem is that 137 PAs is an awfully short time in AAA- likely too short to become ingrained in his muscle memory. I just hope that bringing him up so quickly isn't going to undo all that he has learned.

That is my exact concern.  The ability is there, he needs it to just stick.  If he struggles and starts to press and reverts back to what he was doing before he will need to go back down and start from scratch again.  Basically wasting month and a half of very good development progress. 

[mickeymental]

seems like a textbook case of damned if you do, damned if you don't ...

[DaveW]

 

seems like a textbook case of damned if you do, damned if you don't ...

It's hard to give the braintrust the benefit of the doubt after the results thus far to be honest.

I still like the move though.

[Loosey]

 

 

Reading these pages the last several years there is a pretty clear consensus.     Twins are the slowest team in the majors to promote their top prospects to the big leagues.    They should promote their young stars and let them learn at the big league level.   The top prospects they do promote, they promote too soon and for the wrong reasons. and hinder their development by letting them fail at the big league level.

Personally, I am ok with this move since I didn't really want him sent down in the first place.      

I think the Twins promote too slowly in the lower Minors A to A+ and A+ to AA allowing them to dominate lesser talents.  Once they get to AA though the Twins seem to zip them to the majors without getting the experience of playing against other more developed minor leaguers who are more in line with the talent level of those players.  They then have to learn at the majors and develop some bad habits trying to keep up with established Major League Pitchers/Hitters.  If they would move them quickly through the lower minors and slow them down a bit in AA and AAA I think the jump to MLB wouldn't be as jarring as it has been for many of the Twins prospects lately.  Just my opinion. 

[nicksaviking]

 

I think bringing him up is a great move. You should reward guys for playing well in AAA, especially guys who are the future of this team.

Hopefully this third time is a charm for Byron and he sticks in the majors for the next 15+ years

 

If he wants to be a HOFer, he really should push for 18+

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

 

 

 

It is also interesting that the Twins didn't recall Eddie Rosario. After a slow start in Rochester, he's been hitting better than Buxton. Interestingly, when Buxton left the Rochester game early yesterday (presumably to catch a plane to the west coast), Rosario moved from left to right field while Max Kepler took over center. Do the Twins not consider Rosario a center fielder at all?

I don't believe that ER has taken even a single walk since being sent down. You'd think that that'd be very pushed for or forced area of focus with him down there. His OBP is still deplorable and is completely reliant on his batting average, which is often reliant on luck too.