This has been The Year of the Rookie in MLB, with many top prospects getting the call up to the majors and providing a jolt of excitement and fresh air to what hasn’t been a terribly exciting 2015 season thus far. (Fans of the Royals or Astros would surely disagree with that. Maybe Nats fans too, thanks to Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer.)
Cubs fans have surely enjoyed surging into contention, fueled by the christening of Kris Bryant, with additional juice from Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber. The Astros’ emergence has gotten a nice boost from Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers and Vincent Velasquez joining the fun. Noah Syndergaard has helped the Mets keep pace in the NL East, while Joey Gallo is part of the Rangers’ resurgence in the AL West. The Indians are hoping Francisco Lindor has a similar effect. The Dodgers’ Joc Pederson is tied for fourth in MLB with 19 homers. Even Phillies fans have some hope for the future with the play of Maikel Franco.
But other than Bryant, the best of them all — at least according to the top prospects lists from MLB, Baseball America and ESPN — is Twins outfielder Byron Buxton. Minnesota called him up from Double-A Chattanooga last week (June 14), hoping that the phenom could make an impact on an outfield that hasn’t been very productive for a surprising contender.
It’s obviously too early to say whether or not calling up Buxton had the desired effect, but the results haven’t been as immediate as the Twins (and their fans) surely wanted to see. When Buxton joined the team, Minnesota was two games behind the Royals in the AL Central. Since then, the Twins have gone 5-4, but lost another 1.5 games to Kansas City in the standings.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JUNE 17: Byron Buxton #25 and manager Paul Molitor #4 of the Minnesota Twins celebrate a win of the game against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 17, 2015 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Cardinals 3-1. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
More of a concern had to be Buxton’s individual performance. After going 0-for-2 with two walks in a 4-1 loss to the Cubs, the rookie’s batting average dropped to .091 with a .348 OPS. Not putting the ball in play nor getting on base didn’t allow Buxton to show off the speed that resulted in 103 extra-base hits and 92 stolen bases during his three-plus seasons in the minors.
Seven games and 24 plate appearances is certainly far too small a sample to judge whether Buxton was rushed to the big leagues or if he was feeling overwhelmed (more than expected, that is), but compared to the immediate impact fellow prospects like Bryant and Correa were making, it was natural to wonder — even at such an early stage — if the Twins had made the right decision. Fortunately for both the player and team, more patience was applied to the situation.
This past Sunday (June 21), Buxton broke an 0-for-13 skid with an eighth-inning single off Jake Arrieta. Earlier in the game, he also notched his first major league steal after reaching base on an error. Getting a hit before developing a full-blown slump surely helped Buxton’s mental well-being, but may also have reinforced the confidence the Twins coaching staff had in him.
Manager Paul Molitor followed up on that by moving Buxton to the leadoff spot Monday night. The Twins had been batting the rookie ninth in the batting order, probably trying to protect him from any pressure to produce, while maybe giving him an opportunity to see the games play out a bit before he went to the plate. Yet maybe that decision also belied a tentativeness that Buxton took to the field with him. Was the team questioning if he was truly ready? And if so, it’s not difficult to imagine Buxton harboring a bit of self-doubt.
Batting Buxton lead off may have been the “Welcome to the Big Leagues” moment he needed. If you want to see whether or not someone can swing, toss him in the deep end and watch if he stays afloat. To make the comparison again to Bryant and Correa, their respective managers put them right in the middle of the order in their debuts. Let’s see what you got, kid.
Molitor apparently took eight games to come around to the same thinking, though he may also have been swayed by Buxton’s .313 average and .833 OPS against left-handed pitching this year in the minors and thought White Sox pitcher John Danks presented a good matchup.
Yes, one game is too soon to draw any sort of definitive conclusion. But it might not be a coincidence that Buxton had his best game yet as a major leaguer, buoyed by the confidence his manager and teammates showed in him. The 21-year-old batted 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored. He also made an excellent throw from center field (video posted above) to nail Melky Cabrera at home plate to end the third inning and keep the Twins within a 2-1 deficit.
Maybe it’s just one game and Buxton will end up struggling again. Or this could be the kickstart he needed, sparking the boost that the Twins were hoping for when calling up their No. 1 prospect. At the very least, baseball fans got a glimpse of the talent they’ve been hearing about for the past couple of years. The hope — obviously for the Twins, but also MLB fans in general — is that Monday was just the beginning and that we soon see even more. Young stars emerging and fulfilling expectations has been what’s made this 2015 season enjoyable (though more so for NL fans) and makes the future tremendously exciting.
