Ode To Byron Buxton

If he can keep from killing himself and play 10 more years he will be in the Ozzie Smith category of undeniably the best ever defensively at his position.

Hear hear Nick. I do think the bat will come around, as well as the Gold Gloves. His range is just nuts, and he almost always reels in what he chases after. Just fearless out there: Bill Brown69 sums up my fears for his health quite well .

I just hope he doesn't wear out his pre-arbitration years with no hitting and then starts to slowly develop, so the team doesn't know if it should take an expensive flyer on him longterm or not. Hopefully doesn't follow such notables as Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Ben Revere and Aaaron Hicks to excellent play...in other lands.

But, then again, will Lewis be a shortstop (Nick Gordon) or centerfielder (pushing last year's top pick to left or right). We may not have to worry about Buxton is five years.

Are you kidding me? Why so many puff pieces on this guy? He cant bat. Havent we squeezed enough out of this turnip? Trade him.

Is his defense enough to cover-up his offensive failings?  IMHO:  no.  His offense has not been trending up.  Ave.  is hovering around the Mendoza-line.

Molitor has been benching Buxton an awful lot lately.  I don't know what it will take to get Buxton rolling offensively.  I hope someone can figure it out.  Or maybe the old baseball adage "As the summer warms up, so will the bats" will kick in for Buxton. 

"Hopefully doesn't follow such notables as Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Ben Revere and Aaaron Hicks to excellent play in other lands."

Span and Revere were already what they are before we traded them. Excellent play? I wouldn't go that far.

Are you kidding me? Why so many puff pieces on this guy? He cant bat. Havent we squeezed enough out of this turnip? Trade him.

Perhaps because a run prevented carries just as much weight as a run scored?

Buxton is an elite defensive player. He wins games with his glove. And, we get to freeroll his bat coming around, which I still believe will.

I just hope he doesn't wear out his pre-arbitration years with no hitting and then starts to slowly develop, so the team doesn't know if it should take an expensive flyer on him longterm or not. Hopefully doesn't follow such notables as Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Ben Revere and Aaaron Hicks to excellent play...in other lands.

 

But, then again, will Lewis be a shortstop (Nick Gordon) or centerfielder (pushing last year's top pick to left or right). We may not have to worry about Buxton is five years.

Or the Twins could extend him on the cheap, because defense is undervalued, and then have an inexpensive all-star if he even becomes semi-decent at the plate.

Buxton is already able to hit AAA pitching, pointless and counterproductive exercise to send him there.

Already a star?  Are you kidding me?  As someone else said, why the puff piece?  He is what he is at this point, a great defensive player, and a big offensive liability. "Stars" don't have negative OWAR, they just don't.

Buxton can't learn how to hit MLB pitching in AAA. We've already seen this exact thing before with him and others (cough*Hicks*cough).

All those AAA adjustments immediately go out the window when MLB pitchers continue attacking the weaknesses that AAA pitchers can't. Then it's back to square one, player goes up and down, different coaches, loss of confidence . . . Absolutely horrible idea for a player comfortably above replacement level.

Is the organizations best hitting coach in Minnesota or in Rochester? If it's Rochester, what in the heck are we doing as an organization. If it's Minnesota, wouldn't we want Buxton to be working with that guy?

Statistically, Buxton is a great defender. He's not an all time great in my mind. He has rather poor field awareness which leads to injuries. He takes some interesting routes and makes some bad reads, then makes up for them with blazing speed. His hands are average. Arm seems strong but not a hose. He's not going to get any faster. It won't be long before he starts slowing down. When his world class speed dips, it does not appear he'll have the instincts and route efficiency to make up for it. Maybe the metrics disagree. That's my eye test. 0-8 on 5 stars also fits my eye test. He's great diving, but awkward leaping, had trouble with timing, and doesn't always catch or catch cleanly when going back. It's nitpicking, but the comparison of Ozzie Smith requires it.

Agree that Buck needs to turn around his hitting to stay and that his defense is both difficult to measure and incredibly important to the game's flow. Need only look back to the Kepler error against Cleveland in the first inning that taxed Phil Hughes and Rosario's non-catch in center against Houston during their comeback. Buxton's not perfect nor can all fielders be expected to be perfect, but you have to appreciate the effect his catches have on the game and his pitchers.