Concern for Byron Buxton?

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

I agree with the theory of him selling out to hit bombs.  Less taxing on his knee when he trots around the bases.

He is giving us what he can with the bum knee and I give him credit for that.  I think after off-season surgery, we will see the old line-drive-hitting Buck next season.

[IndyTwinsFan]

19 hours ago, umterp23 said:

Great season no.  Flashes of great, yes.  So right now Mediocre comes to mind

Couldn't agree more!

[D.C Twins]

Buck's knee has been a problem for months. It is negatively impacting his play.... likely more than we even appreciate. He and the Twins have decided that it was better for him to literally and figuratively limp his way through the season.

I suspect that some of his good weeks are coming after getting an injection (which you can only get so often).

I suspect that they would have been better served to rest him on the IL for 2-4 weeks after the initial injury and had a better version of him the rest of the year.... but who knows?!

Bottom line is that I think nothing has changed.... He is dominant when fully healthy and him being fully healthy will likely continue to be sporadic throughout his career. He is NOT fully healthy 

[bean5302]

Eduardo Escobar and Danny Santana both had more impressive streaks than Buxton's to start the year last year over the same number of plate appearances.

Buxton is not the greatest hitter/player in MLB history. Fans should really appreciate him for what he is rather than taking the stat line from a handful of games and deciding that's who the player is. Buxton is a flawed hitter, who has poor contact rates, strikes out a lot and takes few walks.

People asking for Buxton to change his swing to hit more line drives are actually asking for Buxton to go back to pre-2019 Buxton. You want Buxton to stop selling out for home runs? Get ready for a below average hitter at the plate. Buxton has done a remarkable job adapting his strengths to a plate approach which provides ANY value. This is as good as Buxton gets. In fact, I think Buxton is still exceeding his ceiling right now.

[Cody Pirkl]

33 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Eduardo Escobar and Danny Santana both had more impressive streaks than Buxton's to start the year last year over the same number of plate appearances.

Buxton is not the greatest hitter/player in MLB history. Fans should really appreciate him for what he is rather than taking the stat line from a handful of games and deciding that's who the player is. Buxton is a flawed hitter, who has poor contact rates, strikes out a lot and takes few walks.

People asking for Buxton to change his swing to hit more line drives are actually asking for Buxton to go back to pre-2019 Buxton. You want Buxton to stop selling out for home runs? Get ready for a below average hitter at the plate. Buxton has done a remarkable job adapting his strengths to a plate approach which provides ANY value. This is as good as Buxton gets. In fact, I think Buxton is still exceeding his ceiling right now.

His LD rate has dropped almost 5% and his FB rate has increased by about 12% since last year, it's not a pre 2019 request. In a season where offense has been down he's only 7% above average on offense since the first 10 games of the season. Nick Gordon is 9% above average on the season. I know he's not the best hitter in history but if you're content with that kind of output I'd argue you aren't expecting enough.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Cody Pirkl said:

His LD rate has dropped almost 5% and his FB rate has increased by about 12% since last year, it's not a pre 2019 request. In a season where offense has been down he's only 7% above average on offense since the first 10 games of the season. Nick Gordon is 9% above average on the season. I know he's not the best hitter in history but if you're content with that kind of output I'd argue you aren't expecting enough.

Byron Buxton is not the greatest batter in the history in MLB. You say you know he isn't, yet you expect his stats will say he is.

[GeorgiaBaller]

I’m not a fan of this approach for Buxton because he is so disruptive on the basepaths—which adds excitement to games—and does more often with a line drive approach.  I simply do not understand the basis of the argument.

For years, I have been critical of Sano (and others) for this very same thing, with a heavy dose of backlash that the homerun  is the basis of the game today and I needed to accept more strikeouts as a trade off.  And, these other players like Sano that have no +fielding to offset.  This article seems to jump that fence.  It’s not that I don’t agree—but I just can’t follow the train of thought.  To use Buxton and Sano in the same paragraph is laughable—-hopefully I have seen the last Twins PA for MS—- but it seems like the excuse for Sano is the argument against Buck.

[RelentlessHooah]

Home runs aren’t the only stat that matters

[Rosterman]

If going by average, down for most position players.

We think he is hurt, but then he hits triples, scores runs and makes fantastic plays.

Right now, the face of the franchise! 

But if homers were everything, then we should be excited about the potential return of Sano!

[operation mindcrime]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

[KScott]

To me Buxton is a conundrum. 

Here are his stats and ranking among the 153 qualifying MLB players 

Hr: 23                     #5   (#1 on Twins)
Slugging %: .550  #10  (#1 on Twins)
OPS: 0.845            #26  (#2 on Twins behind Arraez)
Runs: 48                #30  (#2 on Twins behind Arraez)
RBI: 42                   #53  (#2 on Twins behind Polanco)
OBP: 0.295            #123(Last of 6)
Average: 0.215      #140(Last of 6)

Depending on how you look at it he is elite or garbage.  IMO his his runs and RBI stay high, he is great.

The question to me is whether or not that is sustainable given his BA and OBP.  Is he a candidate for sharp regression given those splits. 

Overall interesting article.

 

[Mike Sixel]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/byron-buxton-is-finally-an-all-star/