Is top prospect Byron Buxton ready to stick with Twins for good?
recalled by the Minnesota Twins and will be available for their game Tuesday in Oakland after outfielder Danny Santana was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring strain.
One of the top prospects in baseball is getting another opportunity to show he can stick in the the major leagues. Byron Buxton has beenBuxton, Baseball America’s No. 2 prospect the past two years and the No. 1 prospect in 2014, opened the 2016 season as Minnesota’s starting center fielder but the experiment was brief because of his struggles with the bat. The 22-year-old was hitting .156/.208/.256 in 17 games when he was sent down. In 46 games with the Twins last season, Buxton was only slightly better at .209/.250/.326. In 187 career plate appearances he has struck out 68 times.
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He’s had no such issues at the plate in Triple-A, posting an impressive .333/.402/.605 slash line in 28 games and there aren’t any questions about his speed and defense.
The Twins are by far the worst team in the American League and at this point don’t have much to lose by letting Buxton figure out how to succeed in the big leagues. It’s clear that he’s already got minor-league pitching down pat.
Here’s his chance to make sure it’s the last time he’s called up. He’ll likely ensure that’s the case if he can hit up to his massive potential.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr