Minnesota Twins minor league outfield prospect Byron Buxton remains as the top prospect in Major League Baseball, according to ESPN’s Keith Law.
Buxton has missed most of the season with a wrist injury.
Buxton remains at the Twins High Class A affiliate Ft. Myers. Of the Twins promising prospect Law says:
It looked like such a promising year for Buxton, but he sprained his wrist in the final week of spring training, returned in early May, then reaggravated the injury in his fifth game of the year, going back on the DL on May 8.
He still has the minors’ best combination of present skills and ultimate ceiling, a potential plus-plus defender in center who hits for average and has some power, along with a huge value on the bases.
While Buxton’s wrist injury hasn’t knocked him off the top prospects list, it has likely knocked him off the fast track to the big leagues, according to Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony.
Wrist injury be danged. Byron Buxton still has star potential. http://t.co/kLLScBuzqz
— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) May 30, 2014
There has not been a timetable established for Buxton’s return. The former No. 2 overall pick was supposed to spend much of the season at Class Double-A New Britain, but he has been held to five games and 20 at-bats.
Buxton isn’t the only top Twins prospect, who has missed time this season. 1500 ESPN notes that its been a trying year for Twins fans who haven’t been able to see many of the top prospects in the franchise either.
Miguel Sano, the Twins second top prospect, is now 13th on Law’s list of top 25. He will miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
Another top Twins prospect, Eddie Rosario, is also serving a 50-game suspension for drug abuse.
- Sano dropped from 8th to 13th on Law’s list. Law said that Sano remains one of the minors’ best offensive prospects, as a hitter for both average and power, but the odds of him staying at third took a hit with the injury.
- The Twins top pitching prospect, Alex Meyer, received an “honorable mention” but did not make the top 25, despite a stretch of good starts this season for Triple-A Rochester.
