3 Signs Byron Buxton Is Finally Healthy

[Cody Christie]

Byron Buxton can change one game with his speed, powerful bat, or defensive skills. His early season performance points to his being fully healthy, which might be a scary proposition for the rest of the American League.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

Byron Buxton is showing all the signs of a player who’s finally back to his best, and the Twins faithful have every reason to get excited. He has showcased many of his tools in the season’s early games, and here are three key indicators that his health is on the rebound.

Sprint Speed and Base Running
Buxton's elite sprint speed has been his most potent tool throughout his professional career. Clocking in at an impressive 29.5 mph, he’s leading Major League Baseball in Sprint Speed this season. While 30 mph is considered elite speed, Buxton’s mark is close even after battling cold weather conditions at the start of the season. His explosive speed is valuable in the outfield and translates directly into tangible value on the base paths. Currently, his Baserunning Run-Value is in the 80th percentile, meaning he’s not just fast; he’s smart about how he uses that speed.

Take Saturday’s game, for example. Buxton’s blistering speed directly resulted in a run that energized the Twins in a big offensive inning. He stole bases and had multiple infield hits that he beat out, setting the tone for the team. 

“He’s looked great,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “He’s recovered really well. The physical abilities are obviously all still there. He looks fantastic, explosive. Running really well right now and wakes up the next morning ready to play. What else can you ask for?”

Bat Speed
While some of Buxton’s early-season offensive numbers are below his usual levels, his bat speed tells a different story. Ranking in the 90th percentile, his bat speed has been among the league’s best. It’s the fastest bat speed he’s recorded in a season since StatCast began tracking the metric. Buxton showcased his raw power in a recent series against the White Sox by launching a mammoth home run that left fans in awe. 

His bat speed suggests that the tools for a breakout at the plate are firmly in place. While it’s early in the season, the hope is that Buxton can start to make more consistent contact. Last April, he posted a .678 OPS, his lowest total of any month. Sometimes, it takes his bat a little bit to warm up, but his bat speed will help him make hard contact in the weeks ahead. 

“That’s the way he hits them,” Baldelli said of Buxton’s first home run. “Some guys hit homers and they kind of loft the ball up, or some guys hit homers and they stay low. When he hits many of his homers, there’s kind of a moment where everyone in the park pauses at the same time to appreciate it.”

Availability
Perhaps the most reassuring sign for Twins fans is Buxton’s availability. The Twins have clearly placed their trust in him by using him in every game so far this season, even if that means an early exit from a blowout loss. The fact that he’s consistently in the lineup is more than just a testament to his physical readiness. It speaks volumes about the coaching staff's faith in his overall health.

“Just go play,” Baldelli said. “I’ll continue to do my part, but I’ll have the conversations with Buck that need to be had, whenever that may come. But I prefer to just let him go be Byron Buxton. That’s what I would prefer.”

Even when a pitch nicked his hand on Saturday, the incident didn’t overshadow his consistent contributions. It will be interesting to see how the Twins manage his workload in the coming week, but the bottom line remains: a healthy Buxton in the lineup every day is a game-changer. While it’s well understood that no player, not even Buxton, is expected to play all 162 games, seeing him on a near-daily basis is a promising sign.

Buxton’s effort is never questioned, especially from his manager’s perspective. “It’s hard to tell guys how to play Major League Baseball once they take the field—how to tell a guy to give a certain amount of effort, that never feels productive. Even if the message seems to be correct, it never feels good or productive to have to do that, or want to do that. The right message is almost always to go play. And they can regulate themselves better than a manager can ever tell a guy to do.”

Buxton is showing his manager that he is ready for the 2025 campaign. His combination of blistering speed, power, and early availability shows that this might be the best version of Buxton. There are no guarantees that Buxton will stay healthy, especially with his extensive injury history. However, every game that Buxton is available and performing at this level for the Twins is a reminder of why he’s such a prized asset. As the season unfolds, the hope is that this healthy version of Buxton is the reason the Twins were willing to invest in their superstar outfielder. 

What stands out so far about Buxton’s season? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

 

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[jkcarew]

Remains wildly overrated offensively in these parts. And apparently, always will be.

Meanwhile, he’s good overall, and does seem healthy.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

He can run. His bat speed is good.  He has been healthy enough to play every day.

BUT. . . he still isn’t hitting or leading the team.  I’m well aware that 10 games is a small sample size, but at some point he’s got to break out of it and really start hitting if he’s going to lead this team anywhere.  A 57 OPS+ doesn’t cut it for any of our young players and it certainly doesn’t cut it for the team leader.  For the record Correa is somehow carrying a -7 OPS+.  Not sure how you do that. 

I don’t have a solution.  You’re not going to bench him, because POTENTIALLY he’s probably our best player.  He and Correa need to be the guys to carry this team somewhere and all of the “signs” that things are going to go well aren’t cutting it so far.  

[Brett]

Raise your hand if you thought Buxton would start in CF for 10 games in a row at some point this year. I surely did not, especially to start the year when every game is cold.

I appreciate reading about the metrics and the positive signs, but faith is hard to quantify. I believe he’ll be leading the team in home runs by the end of April.

[Blyleven2011]

Buxton is a good player but injury prone as we know , starting 10 games in arow is a plus but he like others are not carrying the team with their inconsistent bats ...

What stands out most of buxtons season so far is the missed catch in left center he caught up to and dropped the other day , he knows he should have caught it , will it be enough to ignite the fire to be better  , he was upset he dropped it , that was easy to see ...

Baseball is a game of concentration in the field and at the plate , will that dropped ball improve his concentration  more ??? ...

I don't blame cold weather  ...

[Fornasiere-ite]

The fact that Byron ran into the wall going full speed yesterday, and is in the starting lineup today is the biggest ray of hope for a healthy Buxton. Rocco (the overly cautions, helicopter manager that he is) historically has taken him out of games or sat him the following day any time BB had some sort of physical altercation with the field of play, so I'm glad to see he's leading off for us today. 

[bean5302]

Buxton is not and never will be fully healthy. Period. There is no such thing.

Buxton has a couple long term chronic problems which will keep causing him problems, and the idea none of those chronic issues will show up during the full season is very long indeed. If Buxton doesn't have any injuries or extra rest days during the season, that'd probably get him to 130 games with normal missed time due to the chronic back, knee and migraine issues. That said, Baldelli will start throwing in extra rest days, especially as the chronic issues start showing with things like knee or back tightness. With the extra rest days and a totally healthy season, Buxton could probably top out at 110-120 games in theory. Unfortunately, Buxton has a long history of normal injuries so him getting to 100 games is a long shot. That's why it was a huge celebration for him last year.

Now, aside from the health issue, just how good do people think Buxton is? He doesn't get on base. Getting on base is pretty important to the value of a bat. As a high K, high power, streaky hitter, Buxton's season stat line will reflect his last couple weeks of the season. If he's in one of his slumps, the final numbers will be mediocre. If he's on one of his hot streaks, he'll post up pretty impressive results.

If Buxton plays 150 games, he's a 5-6 WAR player. Very good, but removed from MVP levels, and he's not exactly going to be "scary" to opposing teams. He's no Shoehei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge or prime Mike Trout.

[rv78]

So far in 10 games, the availability of Buxton hasn't helped the team. Unless you think a .189 batting average and an on base percentage of .231 are some pretty special numbers. It's hard to fathom that the numbers from Correa are even worse. Is it any wonder no one wants to buy this team when $52 Million is being paid to these two over-rated duds.

[nicksaviking]

I am mortified. Didn't everyone get the memo that we are not to say these kinds of things out loud?!?!? What god are you trying to tempt into cursing Buxton and Twins fans this time?

[darin617]

It's April 8th and lets see if Buck can last until June 1st before we start talking about anything.

[Sjoski]

He just wiffed for the 3rd time tonight...3 signs he's not ready 

Then he pulls off The Golden Sombrero. 

[DocBauer]

I may be wrong, but I don't remember Buxton being a hot starter. That doesn't excuse a slow start, I'm just saying it's early and I don't recall him going strong for thr first few weeks previously.

I think the OP has a very valid point. Buck looks healthy, feels good, the speed and the bat speed is all there. I'm not saying he won't get hurt or won't be rested at times. But I think it's misguided and a bit pessimistic to not be encouraged by what appears to be a healthy Buxton. Maybe the most healthy we've seen him in a long time.

[dxpavelka]

********.  Not really a thought of any sort.  Just felt I needed to get on here and say something negative about the man.  Like all the cool kids in school.

[Whitey333]

So tired of all the Buck hype for 10 years now.  Twins Daily is flooded every season about stories of how good Buxton is.  It's so sad that we never saw a healthy Buxton for any length of time.  Yes it's early.  That's the teams motto as they are 3-8.  That early feeling is on Buxton too.  He looks terrible at the plate so far.  Just like he has done a good chunk of his.time with the Twins.  Where is this leadership from Buxton (and Correa) to get this team out of their malaise?

[David Maro]

Last time I looked bat speed means very little when you strike out 4 times. He will never be the player he could of been. He is someone who now believes he is a power hitter. He should be using his speed to run bases and be a problem for the other team. Hopefully Lewis won't end up turning into another Buxton as well. Unfortunately that seems to be headed in that direction.

[LambchoP]

It's nice to see him healthy so far, but his uncompetitive at bats resulting in 4 strikeouts Monday night sure doesn't look good. He's a bit too much of a free swinger. Feels like him and Miranda may never walk again. Buxton especially just cannot lay off those down and away pitches. If I was an opposing pitcher I wouldn't throw anything other than sliders down and away until Buck shows he can lay off...

[joefish]

BuKKKKston. Enough said.

[Sjoski]

On 4/9/2025 at 10:15 AM, joefish said:

BuKKKKston. Enough said.

Good one...or how about...

" Buck 10 "

That’s generally his batting average...  .110

Heck...Bucks hitting way above that at .171