Baseball America article on Byron Buxton

[Steven Buhr]

JJ Cooper of BA was in Cedar Rapids a couple weeks before Buxton was promoted. Buxton is on the cover of the current BA and Cooper's article has now been posted online.

 

Deja Vu?: Byron Buxton Stirs Echoes Of Mike Trout In Cedar Rapids - BaseballAmerica.com

 

In the article, Cooper poses a question to scouts that he's talked to about Buxton:

 

"Beyond comparing Trout and Buxton, scouts in the Midwest League had the opportunity this season to revisit the top of the 2012 draft and ask the question: Knowing what we know now, would you rather have Buxton, or the Astros’ draft haul of No. 1 pick Carlos Correa, as well as supplemental first-rounder Lance McCullers Jr. and second-rounder Rio Ruiz?"

 

The responses are interesting, though not unanimous.

[diehardtwinsfan]

It would be a tough choice. Would you take 3 all stars, 2 of which play at premium positions, vs 1 HOF guy at a premium position? I realize that none of these guys are guaranteed to be an all star, nor is Buxton guaranteed to be an HOF guy, from a ceiling standpoint, this is what you are likely looking at.

 

Tough choice. At the moment, I doubt Houston is complaining... and I doubt Minnesota is either.

[fairweather]

I've been saying it and will continue to say that Buxton is the best "prospect" I've seen since Griffey JR. He reminds me of a young Bonds that hits right handed. He might even be better than Bonds was at this age. He certainly is faster, hits for more average, plays better defense, and has a much better attitude.

[gunnarthor]

1 v. 3 is a tough question but when you throw in that the Twins also got Berrios and Walker, I think I like the Twins haul quite a bit better than the Astros haul.

[PseudoSABR]

It's not as if the Astros would simply surrender those picks, if they had drafted Buxton. As gunnarthor points out, that including the Twins picks of Berrios and Walker, the Twins haul is clearly better. It's a false choice.

[drjim]

Plus, Jim Callis jumpes in and made the point that Houston could have had Buxton and McCullers and a 4th round slot for the same money they spent. It was more Correa and Ruiz vs. Buxton.

[MarcusE]

I know this is fun and everything, but the MN sports fan in me needs some pessimism in case Buxton stumbles between here and the HOF. We can't be this excited because then something major will go wrong. Can someone with more knowledge please throw a little water on this fire, please?

[Steven Buhr]

I dunno, Marcus. After watching him in CR for almost 3 months, about the only water I can throw is to say he does need to work on getting a better jump from 1st base on steal attempts.

 

If that turns out to be the one aspect of baseball that he can't master with time and coaching, he may have to settle for being merely a good base-stealer rather than the elite base-stealer that his speed should allow him to become.

 

That help?

[2wins87]

Cooper also gave an assessment of Buxton's tools (based on his observations and conversations with scouts) for insiders only. He got two 80s and his lowest grade was a 60.

 

Not that we didn't already know he has seriously good tools, but still, it's always nice to hear.

[gunnarthor]

I know this is fun and everything, but the MN sports fan in me needs some pessimism in case Buxton stumbles between here and the HOF. We can't be this excited because then something major will go wrong. Can someone with more knowledge please throw a little water on this fire, please?

 

Not a lot of water to throw on this one. Most top prospects that fail (Francour, Young) for instance are b/c they fail to control the strike zone. That seems to be a real strength for Buxton. (It's also a reason I've always been a big Hicks fan). Barring injury, Buxton should be a really good player. That doesn't mean he'll put up a 10 WAR rookie season. And the scouts that are talking about him aren't just talking about stats, they are looking at his approach as well. I think the hitting tool is the most important and the scouts are already comparing it to Mauer, Pujols and Prince Fielder. A CFer that hits like Mauer (even if the power never shows up) would be amazing.

[diehardtwinsfan]

It's not as if the Astros would simply surrender those picks, if they had drafted Buxton. As gunnarthor points out, that including the Twins picks of Berrios and Walker, the Twins haul is clearly better. It's a false choice.

 

Point taken there.

[Red Bull]

Theres another article written yesterday about buxtons tools but you have to be a customer, has anybody read that article? Im really getting sick of sports sites because you have to pay for all the good articles now. Its total BS!

[John Bonnes]

Thanks SD Buhr for pointing out this story and creating the thread.

 

I just want to highlight one other quote - one which I think Twins fans could (and maybe should) obsess about:

 

At this point it’s reasonable to expect Buxton to open the 2014 season in Double-A. From there, a good performance could mean a late-season callup or an Opening Day 2015 arrival in Minnesota.

 

 

“As we sit here today, no reason to think a fast track isn’t possible,” Radcliff said. “He’s surpassed all the expectations we had. He’s passed with flying colors so far.”

 

[drjim]

If he keeps performing opening day 2015 might be conservative.

[diehardtwinsfan]

This article fails... no reference to purple unicorns.

[Craig Arko]

This article fails... no reference to purple unicorns.

 

Super magic unicorns...