TD Midseason Top Prospects: #1 Byron Buxton

Age: 21

2015 Stats (AA/MLB): .270/.336/.460 (.795), 8-2B, 13-3B, 6-HR, 28/68 BB/K

ETA: 2015

2015 Preseason Ranking: 1

What's To Like

The speed is absolutely breathtaking.

While a mashed tater hit a country mile gives one pause as it clears the fence and drops into the sea of waiting arms, there is nothing that compares to when a player with top-flight speed slashes one into the gap and is off to the races. Buxton’s first major league hit, a stand-up triple no less, proved that point.

In the field, Buxton closes faster than a Canadian Target. According to ESPN/TruMedia, in just under 100 innings in center, Buxton already recorded 10 good fielding plays including this absolute dart at 93 miles per hour (per StatCast) to nail Melky Cabrera at home:

In short, Buxton can score runs and he can take them away.

What's Left To Work On

Terry Ryan was quick to point out that Buxton was not a finished product when he was called up to Minnesota.

“I would have liked to keep Buxton down (at Chattanooga) for more at-bats,” Ryan told the Pioneer Press a week prior to Buxton’s thumb injury. “But it wasn’t meant to be, so here he is.”

In Chattanooga, shortly after Buxton’s big league debut manager Doug Mientkiewicz exercised similar caution regarding his promotion in a chat with FOX Sport’s Ken Rosenthal.

“I don’t think he’s completely ready,” Mientkiewicz told the bow-tied baseball writer. “Well, part of me says yes, and part of me says no.”

Previously, the Looksouts manager was more emphatic about what he wanted for Buxton’s immediate future.

“I would like to see him here the whole year, and that has nothing to do with me as a manager,” Mienkiewicz told the Times Free Press in early May, “I want to see him have success, and too many times in baseball and in general today, these kids have a good two weeks and they move them. They are going to play a long time, so let them build that huge snowball of confidence to where nothing can deter them once they struggle again.”

Mientkiewicz had seen what others had not first-hand – a professional-grade slider presented a challenge to the game’s top prospect. However, in the Southern League, that quality of pitch is harder to find; the major league level would be another story. It became keenly obviously after watching pitchers deploy sliders at a steady clip that Buxton was not fully prepared for the competition.

The reports on Buxton is that he has speed bumps at the introductory point at each level. In Double-A this year, his first series began with nine strikeouts over four games. He adjusted and struck out in just 42 plate appearances over the last 54 games.

"I feel pretty good," Buxton told The Chattanoogan in early June. "I've been taking better at-bats. I've been laying off pitches early in the year I was swinging at. It's put me in position to drive the ball into the gaps more."

In addition to reducing the strikeouts, Buxton also slugged over .500 -- .505 to be exact – so the hope is, once healthy, he will adjust to pitching at the highest level of the game as well.

What's Next

Buxton’s thumb injury will cost him at least a month according to manager Paul Molitor. There may be some rehab time involved that will give him some opportunity to experience AAA pitching – a less electrifying brand of pitching than in the majors but loaded with arms that have major league experience and ability to locate pitches better than their lower level counterparts.

Once he returns, his speed and glove will help stabilize the middle of the outfield and it will only be a matter of time before the speed and bat play a significant role at the top of the order as well.