The Minnesota Twins have plenty to be concerned about when it comes to Byron Buxton’s bat. While he has been a human highlight reel for the Twins in the outfield – at the plate he has been something else entirely.
So far in 2017, Buxton is just 2-for-26 at the plate. To make matters worse, he’s also struck out 14 times – that’s more than half of his at bats this year. The Star Tribune notes that if that pace continues, Buxton will strike out 378 times.
That’s a lot even by today’s standards.
It appeared Buxton had turned the corner late last year. He finished the season hitting .287 with nine home runs and 22 RBIs in his last 29 games. Seven of those homers came in September alone.
However, the 23-year-old outfielder made some pretty significant changes to his stance and approach at the plate. Twins Daily blogger Parker Hageman breaks it down.
I don’t know why Byron Buxton made the changes he did. He should prolly go back to what worked. pic.twitter.com/WJgVcjnU0G
— Parker Hageman (@ParkerHageman) April 10, 2017
Twins manager Paul Molitor began the season with Buxton hitting third in the Twins order. By Sunday he had dropped him all the way down to eighth. If he continues to struggle it might force the Twins to choose between his strikeouts and his defense.
Buxton may well be the best defensive outfielder in the game today, but how long can the Twins keep him in the lineup with his anemic offensive numbers?
