Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is still on the mend from the left shoulder surgery he underwent last September, but he’s making progress. Buxton faced live pitching Tuesday for the first time since August, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune was among those to report.
Twins hitting coach Rudy Hernandez took an optimistic tone after Buxton’s session at the plate, saying the 26-year-old “looked good” and is “going in the right way.”
While the Twins and Buxton are hopeful that he’ll be ready by Opening Day on March 26, neither side is setting a date for his season debut. Considering Buxton’s importance to the club, that’s understandable. After all, despite the time he missed, the former No. 2 overall pick did help the reigning American League Central champion Twins to one of the finest regular seasons in their history last year. The defensively brilliant Buxton slashed .262/.314/.513 (111 wRC+) with 10 home runs, 14 stolen bases and 2.7 fWAR over just 87 games and 295 plate appearances.
For most of the games Buxton sat out last season, the Twins turned to right fielder Max Kepler in center. That figures to be the plan again at the start of this season if Buxton isn’t healthy enough to take the field on Opening Day. The Twins also have LaMonte Wade Jr. and Jake Cave as center field-capable players, while utilityman Marwin Gonzalez could hold down right if Kepler has to fill in for Buxton.
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Total game-changer! The defense is really fun to watch. The guy chases down everything. I love when an opposing player smashes what he thinks is a double to the gap and then Buxton glides in for catch. It’s a sight to see! I also want to say that his bat is very underrated. He got off to a slow start there but his pitch selection has improved and so have his numbers. You can do much much worse than having him tabbed with turning over a lineup! 5-tool guy here.
Agree, he makes the entire team better, especially the pitchers .. I will be surprised if he is ready for opening day ..
Well then there’s one upside to the late start..
I love watching good defense. He covers a lot of ground and with a very smooth, fluid stride.
He’s solid…. any team would like him, but he’s not a 5 tool player… he’s never hit more than 16HRs or over .260 Avg… he still has room to grow, but he’s lacking the hit tool
Article says he hit .262 last year though ?
Maybe for his sake he’s starting to figure it out on the offensive side. Give him his props on defense but he can’t stay healthy … he strikes out too much … overall he’s a below average hitter. I would count on him to be anything more than a .240 hitter with little pop.
+111 wRC+ means he was 11% better than average last year when healthy. It may be a small sample size, but given how great he has been in stretches offensively, it may be a sign of things to come.
Also “a .240 hitter with a little pop” describes a lot of average to slightly above average hitters.
Overall, he’s an overrated player. Has had some good moments, but to inconsistent with the bat, and his health is unreliable.
It would be fun to see what he could do if healthy all year. I hope they somehow teach him how not to sacrifice his body and stay healthy.
If Jackie Bradley traded health for a vague ability to hit and some charisma he would be Byron Buxton.
Elite defender who sacrifices his body in CF. Like Fred Lynn used to do. All star if he plays a full season. Too much to ask probably.
So hopeful that he breaks out into a full season all-star this year. He could be our Yankee killer
Very overrated. Even when he’s on the field, he can’t hit. Add to the fact he’s injury prone, he never catches a break.
It’s not all hitting. For a guy with speed, he has a terribly low OBP. Never had more than .320 in any year.
I wonder why the writers have stopped writing? Seems like MLB would encourage players to talk on the phone with writers so that interest in the game could be continued.
To fill my baseball fix, I have been finding one game per day to watch on Youtube. Working my way through the 1980s. See you all when live baseball returns.