Byron Buxton

Buxton had yet another injury-plagued season, but his decline at the plate and inability to play in the field at all has put his future role with the Twins in doubt. Buxton underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in late September 2022 and didn't play in games until late in spring training. The Twins then announced he would only be used as DH to begin the season. Despite flashes of power at the plate, Buxton underwhelmed by hitting .207/.294/.438 and missing time with calf, knee, back and rib issues (landing on the injured list after getting hit by a pitch). Buxton's knee issue never improved, and he never played in the field outside of one rehab game in the minors. He then landed on the injured list in early August with a hamstring strain and only returned for one plate appearance in the playoffs. After the season, Buxton had surgery on his knee to clean up scarring from his 2022 surgery that led to irritation. He's expected to be ready for the start of spring training but it's now a legitimate question whether he'll ever return to his defensive prowess in center field. In the third season of a 10-year, $100 million contract, the Twins will continue to try to find a way to keep him in the lineup.

When Buxton is on the field, he's one of the best players in baseball. Alas, he hasn't played more than 100 games since 2017. Buxton hit a career-high 28 home runs in just 92 games (and his second best 382 PA) with a .832 OPS and was the starting center fielder for the AL All Star team. Buxton hurt his knee in Minnesota's 7th game of the season which caused severe tendinitis. He avoided the injured list for the injury but the Twins rested him frequently with a pattern of playing in center field, DH and then a day off every three games. He then suffered a hip strain Aug. 23 which landed him on the injured list and he was shut down for the season once the Twins fell out of the playoff race. He had offseason surgery on the knee and is expected to be ready for spring training. Buxton can strike out too frequently (30.4% last season) but has elite power and bat speed. He ranked 11th in MLB in Barrel rate and 7th in average Exit Velocity (both per Baseball Savant). Buxton may be the fastest player in MLB, which results in supreme efficiency on the base paths, but the Twins limit his opportunities for both strategy (the Twins were last in SB attempts) and health concerns. Buxton has 40-30 potential if he has a full healthy season, but Minnesota's strategy of frequently resting him last year could cap his fantasy upside if that becomes the norm.

Buxton is living up to his early promise to become a super star at the plate adding to his already elite defense when he's on the field. Of course, staying on the field continues to be a chronic issue as he's played over 100 games just once in his career. Buxton hit .306 with 16 home runs, a .647 SLG and a 1.005 OPS last season with a 4.5 bWAR - the highest bWAR in baseball history for a player who appeared in 70 games or less. Buxton played just 61 games as he missed six weeks with a strained hamstring and then two months after breaking a bone in his hand after getting hit by a pitch. Buxton can strike out too frequently (24.4% last season) but is developing elite power and bat speed. He ranked third in MLB in Barrel rate (at his playing time levels) and was in the 96th percentile for Max Exit Velocity (both per Baseball Savant). Buxton may be the fastest player in MLB, which results in supreme efficiency on the basepaths. He's got 40-30 potential, but needs to stay healthy. With a new 7-year, $100 million contract, he'll get every opportunity to put it all together in Minnesota.

Buxton continued his emergence as a power hitter last season and is still an elite defender in center field, but unfortunately he also continues to struggle to stay on the field. Strikeouts have been his Achilles' heel, but his 26.7% strikeout rate continued a downward trend from earlier in his career. Buxton can't shake the injury bug, missing 21 games due to a concussion, a shoulder injury and a sprained left foot. While the concussion was from a HBP, his aggressive play on defense puts wear on his body, which the Twins tried to reduce by having him play deeper in center field to avoid running into walls. He's also sliding feet first now and his steal attempts will likely be limited despite being perhaps the fastest player in the majors. Fewer stolen bases would limit his fantasy value, but Buxton remains a tantalizing talent who could put it all together at age 27 - if he can stay healthy.

Buxton remains perhaps the most tantalizing and frustrating player in fantasy baseball. He showed growth with fewer strikeouts (career-low 23.1 K%) and increased power (.251 ISO) in 2019. Unfortunately, he once again missed significant time; he dealt with a wrist injury, a concussion, a sore back, a sore knee and finally a torn labrum in his left shoulder which prevented him from hitting after Aug. 1. While the wrist injury was a fluke, the result of a HBP, the other four were caused by him running into a wall or diving. A big part of Buxton's defensive value is his ability to make plays on balls few players can reach, so it may be hard to get him to dial back his aggressiveness. Buxton may be the fastest player in MLB, which results in supreme efficiency on the basepaths. He's got 30-40 potential, but needs to stay healthy. As long as he remains upright, he will be Minnesota's starting center fielder.

Buxton looked like a budding star in the second half of 2017 (.893 OPS, 11 HR), but followed that up with a lost year. He began last season by missing time with recurring migraines and played through a hairline fracture in his left big toe, which resulted in him being sent to the minors after hitting just .122 in 17 games. Then he missed several weeks with a wrist injury. When finally healthy, he hit .311 with three homers and a .901 OPS over 23 games, but Minnesota manipulated his service time and did not call him up in September. Buxton is the fastest player in baseball, which results in outstanding defense and supreme efficiency on the basepaths (34-for-35 on SB attempts over the past 168 games). He's been erratic at the plate, with stretches of promise and futility. His power/speed upside remains alluring entering his age-25 season, but he will need to make more consistent contact while avoiding injuries to have a shot at reaching that ceiling.

Buxton had epic struggles at the plate to begin last season, hitting .147 with a .433 OPS in the first month while striking out in 37 percent of his plate appearances. The Twins kept him in the lineup for his defense -- he was the top outfielder in baseball by most advanced metrics. Buxton completely changed his swing in May, dropping his leg kick and almost starting from scratch with some awkward initial at-bats. The radical changes helped as Buxton hit .300 with 11 home runs, an .893 OPS and a 27.6 percent strikeout rate after the All-Star break. Buxton may be the fastest player in the majors, which allows him to be supremely efficient on the basepaths, where he stole 29 bases on 30 attempts. Despite his second half renaissance, Buxton still has work to do with pitch recognition, which would lead to fewer strikeouts and more walks. Given his pedigree (No. 2 overall pick in 2012) and rare power-speed combo, Buxton’s upside appears unlimited entering his age-24 season.

Buxton was struggling through a second consecutive disappointing season in the majors before a strong September finish gave hope that the former top prospect may be ready to become a star. After hitting just .193 with one homer in his first 63 games in the majors, Buxton finished the season strong by batting .287 with 10 homers and a 1.011 OPS after he was called up again in September. He still needs to improve his low walk rate and terrible strikeout rate, but his power surge is likely for real as he hit 11 home runs with a .927 OPS at Triple-A. Buxton posses outstanding speed, which makes him a plus defender and should result in impact stolen-base totals if he can get on base more frequently. He's set to start in center field for the Twins and should get every chance to prove his September ascendance is for real.

Buxton began the season at Double-A and hit .283/.351/.489 with six home runs and 20 stolen bases in 59 games before he was called up to the majors in June. Just 11 games into his big league career, he landed on the DL after spraining his thumb. Buxton played 13 games at Triple-A after a long layoff and finally returned to the majors in mid-August. Given the job initially as Minnesota's starting center fielder, he struggled and had a part-time role in September. Buxton hit just .209 with a .576 OPS in the majors and looked overmatched as he was often lost and free swinging at the plate. He had an ugly 44:6 K:BB, a stark contrast to his minor league career where he showed impressive control of the strike zone. With Aaron Hicks out of the picture, Buxton appears destined to begin the season as Minnesota's starting center fielder, and there is still good reason to believe he'll be a five-tool star.

Buxton entered 2014 as the top prospect in baseball, but played just 31 games amid an injury-plagued season that set back his development a full year. Buxton suffered a pisotriquetral joint sprain in his left wrist in spring training and didn't begin his minor league season until May. After getting on the field at High-A Fort Myers, he aggravated the injury after just one week and proceeded to miss another two months. When he finally returned in July, he was quickly promoted to Double-A – where he suffered a season-ending concussion in a collision with a teammate in the outfield in his first game. He returned for the Arizona Fall League but didn't do much at the plate as he hit .263/.311/.298 before suffering yet another injury, a broken finger. None of Buxton's injuries are expected to be an issue in spring training, but his lack of playing time likely pushed back timetable for becoming the everyday center fielder for the Twins from 2015 to 2016. Further, his multitude of injuries – including a shoulder injury in the 2013 AFL – raise concerns that he's injury prone. However, his limited performance did nothing to dissuade analysts and scouts that he's still among the elite prospects in baseball. In 2013, he also showed impressive control of the strike zone, striking out in just 18.3% of his plate appearances, while drawing walks 13.2% of the time. Buxton's speed also results in outstanding defense in center field, and while his 12 home runs in 2013 weren't overly impressive, scouts expect him to develop more power as he grows. He'll likely begin 2015 at Double-A and the Twins will likely give him extended time in the minors to prove he can stay healthy. If everything goes well, he could push his way to Minnesota before the end of the season.

Buxton may be the best prospect in baseball after a season in which he displayed his five-tool talent, hitting .334/.424/.520 with 12 home runs and 55 stolen bases between Low-A and High-A. He began the season by hitting .341/.431/.559 for Low-A Beloit with 32 stolen bases in 68 games. He was then promoted to High-A Fort Myers, where he hit .326/.415/.472 with 23 stolen bases. Buxton, who is said to be the fastest player in the Twins' organization, led the entire minor leagues with 18 triples. He also showed impressive control of the strike zone, striking out in just 18 percent of his plate appearances, while drawing walks 13 percent of the time. Buxton's speed also results in outstanding defense in center field, and while his 12 home runs last season weren't overly impressive, scouts expect him to develop more power as he grows. His performance is more impressive since he did it at just age 19, as few players that young have posted an OPS of .990 in the pitcher-friendly Low-A Midwest League. He quickly drew comparisons to Mike Trout, who displayed similar numbers while playing for Low-A Cedar Rapids in his age-19 season (Trout hit .362/.454/.526 with six home runs in 81 games), and last season Buxton drew praise from many scouts who put him on par with Trout or even said he was the best player they had ever seen. Although Minnesota is typically slow to rush prospects through the system, they'll likely make an exception for Buxton. He'll begin the season at Double-A, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him entrenched as Minnesota's starting center fielder as early as June.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft has the potential to develop into a top-notch, five-tool player for the Twins. He hit just .248 with a .792 OPS in 48 games between two levels of rookie ball, but showed promising signs by hitting five home runs and drawing walks in 10 percent of his plate appearances. He is also said to have the best speed in the organization. Buxton is far away from the majors at age 19 and the Twins do not rush prospects, but he could quickly climb to the top of Minnesota's prospect lists.