When you think of the best players in baseball people list off names like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Juan Soto. Yes, these answers are all correct in their own ways and these players have all put up historical numbers to back their claims for being the best in the business when it comes to being a professional baseball player. I’m not going to sit here and claim that I think Byron Buxton is better or close to the same level as the three players that I mentioned before, but I think that people forget and undervalue the baseball player that he is and the potential to be one of the best players in the league.
When the Minnesota Twins used the second overall pick of the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft on Byron Buxton the expectations were immediately high. Scouts had raved about Buxton’s five tool abilities coming out of high school and leading into the draft which made him the number one ranked player in the 2012 draft class according to ESPN. After being drafted, Buxton shined on the field in his first full season of minor league baseball and Baseball America named him the 2013 Minor League Player of the Year as a 19-year-old. Upon entering his 2014 minor league season, he was the consensus number one prospect in Major League Baseball and all eyes were on him.
Buxton’s major league career has been very interesting so far. After making his debut in June of 2015, he has found himself on the injured list more times than he’s been healthy. Throughout Buxton’s career he has only played in 48.1% of possible games which makes him one of the most injury riddles players in recent memory. Some major injuries throughout his career include a fractured toe, surgery on his shoulder, fractured hand, and back spasms. Also, we have seen him play more than 100 games in a season once in his 7-year career thus far. So, injury concerns have been the main story of Buxton’s career and people have almost come to expect something to happen to the 28-year-old every season. However, the Minnesota Twins have put faith in him by signing him to a 7-year, $100 million dollar deal before the start of the 2022 MLB season. You may ask yourself, why would the Twins do this if he is always hurt?
The Minnesota Twins are putting their faith and money into Byron Buxton to stay on the field and produce. When Buxton is not injured, he has shown everyone what he can do which is why the Twins are taking a gamble. One of the best parts of Buxton’s game is his glove, as he is a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove Award winner. He has a career DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) of 61 and a career fielding percentage of .991 which shows that he is an elite defender in the outfield. His speed is also among the best in the league, his sprint speed so far in the 2022 season is in the 92nd percentile among all active MLB players. Also, during the 2017 season where we saw Buxton play 140 of the possible 162 games in a season, he stole 29 bases. If you combine his 2020-2022 seasons and take a look at his stats for an average of 162 games, he would have a .288 batting average, 55 home runs, and 101 RBI’s. Not to mention his Gold Glove caliber defense in center field and his speed on the base paths, this would be an MVP type performance if he could stay healthy for an entire year.
So far although it has only been about a month, Buxton has been able to stay on the field. There was a minor scare in Boston when he slid into second a couple weeks ago and had to come out of the game, however, he has been back on the field and been playing well. So far in 62 at bats, he is hitting .290 with 7 home runs and 13 RBI’s. If he can keep preforming the way he has been so far and stay on the field for the entirety of the 2022 season, I think Buxton could win the MVP award and finally show people why he is one of the best players in baseball.
