To view the full feature, including reports on the Minnesota Twins top 10 prospects, please visit this link.
Last year’s Twins list
The Top Ten
- CF Byron Buxton
- 3B Miguel Sano
- RHP Alex Meyer
- RHP Kohl Stewart
- RHP Jose Berrios
- SS Nick Gordon
- LHP Lewis Thorpe
- RHP Nick Burdi
- 2B Jorge Polanco
- LHP Stephen Gonsalves
1. Byron Buxton
Position: CF
DOB: 12/18/1993
Height/Weight: 6’2” 189 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted/Acquired: 1st round, 2012 draft, Appling County HS (Baxley, GA)
Previous Ranking: #1 (Org), #1 (Top 101)
2014 Stats: .240/.313/.405 at High-A Fort Myers (30 games)
The Tools: 8 run; 6 arm; 7 potential glove; 6 potential power; 6 potential hit
What Happened in 2014: A wrist injury put a major dent in the season of the crown jewel of the system. The 21-year-old was limited to just 31 games and then had his time in the Arizona Fall League come to a crashing halt due to a concussion and a dislocated finger.
Strengths: Well above-average athlete; elite run; endless range; superb instincts; gracefully moves from gap to gap; right-fielder’s arm; advanced feel for hitting; lets balls travel deep into the zone; explosive hands; plus-plus bat speed; barrels offerings with authority; well above-average raw; advanced approach at the plate.
Weaknesses: Still transitioning from raw athlete to skilled player; presently plays on ability; needs to learn to further slow the game down; swing at present more geared towards line-drive contact; can stand to create more lift and post-contact extension for power to play to full potential; has struggled against high-quality breaking stuff; tends to lunge and overcommit hands; will guess with some frequency.
Overall Future Potential: 8; elite major leaguer
Realistic Role: High 6; first-division player/occasional all star
Risk Factor/Injury History: Moderate; limited upper-level experience; wrist injury/concussion (2014).
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: It’s really very hard to undersell Buxton’s fantasy potential, and he’s one of the few players in baseball with the potential to supplant Mike Trout as the overall #1 pick one day. The rough 2014 and push back in his ETA is the only thing keeping him from being the top fantasy prospect in the game, and he could be a 25-homer, 50-steal roto monster if it all comes to pass.
The Year Ahead: Despite essentially a lost season in 2014 and delay in development time, Buxton remains the headliner of this system and the premier prospect in all of the minor leagues. This is a true five-tool talent that oozes naturalness and the type of ability that makes even the most conservative of evaluators drop lofty projections for what the future holds. This space could be filled with superlatives and flowing language waxing poetically about the Georgia native, but it really boils down to one word: “easy.” That’s the way the 21-year-old makes this game look, which is a testament to the talent and the way it has come together so quickly since signing. This season will see Buxton return to the field, where a string of good health should lead to an uninterrupted foray into the upper levels and can very well culminate in a big-league debut during the latter stages of the season. We should expect that the uber-prospect will likely need to shake some off rust in the early going, but once he hits his stride look for the train to continue barreling down the tracks on a collision course for stardom at the highest level in the not-so distant future.
Major league ETA: Late 2015
This is PG 'DiamondKast' Level content.
You must be either an DiamondKast, Crosschecker Rankings & Scouting Reports, or Scout subscriber to read the rest.