Byron Buxton Is Finishing September How He Started April

Byron Buxton Is Finishing September How He Started April

by | Sep 14, 2021 | THE LEAD OFF

Byron Buxton’s first 27 games this season provided everything that the Minnesota Twins were hoping for when they drafted him second overall back in 2012.

The 27-year old outfielder was a lock for the American League All-Star team and an early MVP candidate after bursting out of the gate with a slash line of .369/.409/.767.

But, on June 21, things came to an abrupt halt when Buxton suffered a broken left after being hit by a pitch.

Buxton had already missed a month and a half with a hip strain. It was frustrating for Buxton, and devastating to the Twins.

It wouldn’t be hard to make the argument that the Twins have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this season.

Minnesota was expected to contend for the AL Central championship, if not the best record in the league, and finally win their first playoff game since 2004.

Instead, the Twins are looking up at the Royals from last place. The absence of Byron Buxton from the lineup is a big reason why.

Minnesota is 20-22 when Buxton plays (.476) and 43-59 when he doesn’t (.421).

Buxton rejoined the Twins on to Aug. 27, and he struggled to get back into the swing of things, going 2-for-27 (.074) with 10 strikeouts in his first seven games. His batting average fell from .369 to .301.

Over his last eight games though, he’s once again looking like one of baseball’s best.

The Twins are 5-3 over that span following Monday afternoon’s 5-6, extra-inning loss to the New York Yankees.

Buxton went 2-for-4 in the game, including his 14th home run of the season in the third inning.

He raised his batting average back over .300 for the first time since Sept. 6.

 

Overall, since Sept. 5, he’s batting .305, with 11 hits, four home runs, five RBI, and nine runs scored.

Only Vlad Guerrero Jr. has more home runs among AL hitters in that stretch. Buxton is also in the top ten in runs and doubles.

The surge comes as rumors continue to swirl about Buxton’s future in Minnesota.

The man they call “Buck” is likely to command a lot of them if the Twins let him hit the free agent market in 2023.

Is the franchise ready to make a longer commitment to their talented, but often injured young star?

That remains to be seen.

Until then, Buxton keeps making the case that when he is healthy, he’s one of the most complete players in the majors.

 

Byron Buxton Was Going To Be A First Time All-Star | Then He Got Injured… Again

Byron Buxton Was Going To Be A First Time All-Star | Then He Got Injured… Again

by | Jun 23, 2021 | 5TH SLOT

After getting hit by a pitch on Monday during a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the Twins’ center fielder suffered what is known as a boxer’s fracture in his left pinky, and the recovery time will likely keep him out of the 2021 All-Star Game.

The injury comes just three days after Buxton returned from the injury list with a bang after recovering from a hip strain.

 

 

No one can deny that it’s tough to see a player miss significant time due to injury, but this news about Buxton is a harder pill to swallow for one very clear reason: he’s constantly on the injured list. It feels like he can’t catch a break. Matter of fact, to be exact, he’s been on the injured list 15 times since getting drafted. That’s a big number for anyone, but it hits a little differently when the player is as good as Buxton is. 

As the second overall pick in the 2012 draft, Buxton has lived up to the hype when he’s healthy. Despite only playing in 27 games this season, his numbers reflect his talent.

 

 

He’s batting .369 with 19 RBI, 10 home runs and a fielding percentage of .986. Since making his debut with the Twins in 2015, he only has one season of at least 100 games played. He was named a Gold Glove winner during that same 2017 season.

So what’s next for Buxton? Unfortunately, there is no way to answer that as of now. According to Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, Buxton is “beyond upset about it.”  The Twins have yet to know if Buxton’s injury will require surgery, and they also don’t know how long it will be until he’s cleared to play again. 

Unfortunately, questions about how long Buxton will recover from this injury also mean that Buxton’s availability for the upcoming All-Star Game is one giant question mark.

For Buxton, the timing couldn’t be any worse, especially considering that his injury occurred exactly one week after the standings for the first phase of voting results were made public. 

The way the voting works is quite simple. The three position players with the most votes advance to the second phase, and the top nine outfielders in each league will advance as well.

Last Monday’s standings had Buxton listed as third amongst the top nine outfielders in the American League. The two players above him were Mike Trout, who had 15 percent of the votes, and Aaron Judge, who had eleven percent. Buxton earned eight percent of the votes. However, the first phase of voting doesn’t officially end until Sunday, June 27. 

 

 

With this injury now being the deciding factor on whether or not Buxton will be available, there is a strong possibility that he drops from his current spot on the list. Unlike Trout and Judge, this could have been his first year as an MLB All-Star.