Article: Buxton’s Best Lined Up for Now?

[Doomtints]

We have seen Buxton play. We know he isn't a quitter. Having him sit out the last month was obviously going to rub him the wrong way and was a gross miscalculation by the Twins.

 

None of this means he will instantly play well next year, that this was a "wake up call" or whatever -- because as I said, Buxton was never a quitter. The problem is something else, and by sending him home the Twins lost the opportunity to figure out what the problem actually is. The Twins did not have to play him over the last month, but they certainly had to work with him.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Doomtints

[Doomtints]

 

I am glad you disagree but we keep having promising players get traded and then "turn the corner".  Why would they trade Hicks?  If Buxton and Sano have another bad year then what? 

 

Hicks was terrible his first year as a Yankee. I credit Hicks's turnaround to the Yankees hitting coaches who figured out the issue and turned him around.

 

Hicks would have never turned the corner in a Twins uniform.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Doomtints

[Lee-The-Twins-Fan]

Never say never.

 

[mlhouse]

 

Rosario, Buxton and Kepler could be the best outfield in baseball for the next ten years.  The Twins coaches need to find a way to get each playing the way they are capable of.  Then management needs to get them signed to contracts that will keep them here.

 

As for Rooker, Kirilloff, Larnach and others.  The fact remains that none of them are likely to be better than any of this trio if they each reach their personal ceilings  They also are all still in the minors and some won't reach the ceilings we are all hoping for.  For those that do, there will be ways to get them into the lineup.   

 

If Rosario, Buxton, and Kepler are as good as the Twins can get in the OF, then we might as well give up now.

[DocBauer]

If Rosario, Buxton, and Kepler are as good as the Twins can get in the OF, then we might as well give up now.

Going to have to disagree here. Potential is both a beautiful and ugly word. Rosario flashed, and then broke through in 2017. He was performing just as well before struggling with injury the second half in 2018. The 25yo Kepler has also flashed, showing off his athleticism and "potential", mixed in with weird splits and maddening inconsistency. Despite being a more natural corner OF rather than a true CF, the lessons of Hunter, Gomez and Hicks should apply to him as well. To dismiss him this early would be a big mistake.

 

THEN, of course, there is the enigma of Buxton. Keith Law, I believe it was, responded to a question on a posted tweet as to what was wrong with Buxton. His response was; "Nothing. He was hurt all of last year." A simplistic and maybe even flippant answer? One could easily say yes. But despite some struggles and some rather pathetic flailing we saw last season, his "potential" and very strong finish in 2017 can't and shouldn't be ignored. I make no excuses, he still has to go out and play and perform. But even if the migraine problems early last season is dismissed as controllable and preventable with medication/treatment, the foot injury, trying or being forced to play with it, and then followed up by a wrist injury, I'm just not sure what anyone should have expected from Buxton last season.

[mlhouse]

 

Going to have to disagree here. Potential is both a beautiful and ugly word. Rosario flashed, and then broke through in 2017. He was performing just as well before struggling with injury the second half in 2018. The 25yo Kepler has also flashed, showing off his athleticism and "potential", mixed in with weird splits and maddening inconsistency. Despite being a more natural corner OF rather than a true CF, the lessons of Hunter, Gomez and Hicks should apply to him as well. To dismiss him this early would be a big mistake.

THEN, of course, there is the enigma of Buxton. Keith Law, I believe it was, responded to a question on a posted tweet as to what was wrong with Buxton. His response was; "Nothing. He was hurt all of last year." A simplistic and maybe even flippant answer? One could easily say yes. But despite some struggles and some rather pathetic flailing we saw last season, his "potential" and very strong finish in 2017 can't and shouldn't be ignored. I make no excuses, he still has to go out and play and perform. But even if the migraine problems early last season is dismissed as controllable and preventable with medication/treatment, the foot injury, trying or being forced to play with it, and then followed up by a wrist injury, I'm just not sure what anyone should have expected from Buxton last season.

 

If Kiriloff etc et al are not at least as good as Rosario, we are in trouble.  We are a sub-500 club and if our upcoming prospects are not better than the team we field now this is going to be a forever rebuild.

[DocBauer]

If Kiriloff etc et al are not at least as good as Rosario, we are in trouble.  We are a sub-500 club and if our upcoming prospects are not better than the team we field now this is going to be a forever rebuild.

Ah, Kiriloff, I like him very much! (Tip of the cap to our man Cerano, LOL).

 

On a more serious note, I think the Twins got a real steal in Khirilloff. Despite being perhaps the best HS bat in the draft, he slid to the Twins at 17, IIRC. Why I don't know, but I'm sure glad he did! What he did in 2018 was impressive. To do what he did after missing the entire season before makes it doubly impressive!

 

Badoo has all the potential in the world, it seems. (There's that beautiful but ugly word again). But "potential" shouldn't be dismissed when talking about 25yo and younger ballplayers. Potential only becomes ugly when the obvious point of "nope" is clearly reached.

 

The early returns on Larnach are very good. I still feel Wade has a chance to be Lawton-like with just a little more seasoning. Davis could have a shot. Despite a long road to travel, (figuratively and literally), despite an injury lost season, I find Whitefield to enormously intriguing. Obviously, there are others.

 

We are all hopeful but immensely frustrated. But context should also be used. To look back 5 years, or longer, as some do, is misguided. There's not a single player on this team from that time frame. (Unless I've forgotten someone). Not to mention a new FO, a revamped field staff, behind the scenes changes, a fun and surprising 2017 season before the mess that was 2018 due to many factors still produced 78 wins.

 

No rose colored glasses. 2018 was a bitter disappointment. And I am absolutely NOT going to through everything that went wrong last year. But if you had told me ahead of time what was going to happen, I would have predicted a 100 loss team.

 

I get all that you are saying, and I appreciate your opinions. And we do need and want better players. Some are on their way, some will be added. But many of those players are already here. It's a question of being healthy and for Rocco and his staff to get the most out of them. This conversation began, essentially, in regard to the OF. Despite Khirilloff and others, a healthy Rosario, Buxton and Kepler playing to their potential, or at least beginning to reach it as a collection of 27yo and a pair of 25yo OF would absolutely not be part of the problem.

[The_Phantom]

“Rocco was vastly superior to Byron numerical at this stage in their careers.”

 

“He then got in less than 40 games in 2007 and 2008 due to an undiagnosed medical condition.”

 

“It was the mitochondrial channelopathy that would also abruptly end his career as a 28-year-old in 2010.”

 

“Minnesota’s front office was cutthroat, and the player was within his rights to feel like it sucked.”

 

Typos, grammatical errors, unnecessary thesaurus use, and awkward informality all within about 1.5 paragraphs. Man, this was a brutally bad read.

 

Anyway, Buxton has been a fan exercise in frustration. He definitely still has the time and raw ability, but he has a long way to go. And there’s no point in denying that his beyond atrocious 2018 was one of the 3 or 4 main reasons the twins underperformed (Sano and Molitor being two of the equally obvious ones). Buxton pulled off an Amazing feat to have a negative wRC+.

 

I really want to feel like if he doesn’t turn the corner this year, it’s time to move on. But the twins lack of major offseason activity definitely doesn’t indicate that they are in any kind of “win now” mentality so I’m sure we’ll see him continue to be given all the time he needs to adjust. Hopefully he eventually will

[ewen21]

The notion that the Twins are supposed to shepard Buxton through his fifth season in the majors is instructive. It is just another indicator that he still doesn't have the mental aspect of the game down. If he starts off like a train wreck again then what? He has been given the job, but let's not ignore the fact he has starred off rack of the last three seasons horribly.

 

What would be the cause of that? Everyone talks about his work ethic and amazing athletic ability. When then could it be? He's admitted to being nervous several times. I'm wondering when or if he's going get past this. He also seems to have a mental block about playing in Yankee Stadium. One hit in like 25 at bats and tons of Ks. Just another coincidence?

 

Not sure how we can brag about his athleticism and work ethic without wondering about what's going on between the ears. He strikes as a guy who is easily rattled. That interview at the children's hospital didn't make me feel differently.

 

Dude needs to put on the big boy pants. He said HE won't sugarcoat things so why sugarcoat for him any longer? He needs to be accountable for his terrible bat. It's on him now.

[ewen21]

Ok did that last post on my phone in the airport. Sorry for the typos

[yarnivek1972]

These two young B men are crucial cogs in a dysfunctional machine. Buxton is aces in the field and on the basepaths and alligator meal at the plate. Baldelli is an Italian pony without Molitor’s experience or wisdom who wants to be a stallion like Mollie. Stranger things have happened. Baldelli is wise to court Byron. Without a resurgence from the B Man, the jigsaw puzzle at Target Field will remain an unholy mess and these B men will be playing to the peanut gallery. Time, which is short, will tell.

Baldelli has spent the last 3 seasons in a MLB dugout watching and learning.

 

Molitor spent most of his time prior to becoming manager as a minor league roving baserunning instructor.

 

Rocco also scored 1300 on his SAT. Plenty of wisdom.

[jokin]

 

Hicks was terrible his first year as a Yankee. I credit Hicks's turnaround to the Yankees hitting coaches who figured out the issue and turned him around.

 

Hicks would have never turned the corner in a Twins uniform.

 

Spot on. Credit goes to the Yankee FO and coaching staff to have faith in sticking with their trading decision for Hicks in the pressure-cooker NY environment- and to Hick's himself- to trust the Yankee staff to help him get his career closer to tracking his full potential- and overcoming his previous seeming indifference and lack of self-confidence.

 

This trade had disaster written all over it for the Twins at the time of the transaction. It likely was one of the final nails in the coffin for Ryan's exit. The Twins organization can ill-afford to continue to seemingly mishandle huge talent-laden prospects and hope to stay competitive. If the "Win Now" Yankees can turn on the talent switches with BOTH their top prospects as well as buy-low trade acquisitions, there's no reason that a team with one of the longest developmental timeline schedules, as well as the seemingly-forever team-rebuild phases, better draft slots, etc. can't do at least as well.

 

To be at their current state, 4-5 years into Buxton's and Sano's MLB careers, given their unlimited potential, is exemplary of an organization that is in serious need of re-evaluation of every aspect of their player analysis and development.