Despite a rash of injuries last season, Twins minor league outfielder Byron Buxton has remained the top prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
He was the highest-ranked among six Twins prospects, who were listed in their “Top 100 Prospects in Major League Baseball.” All six were ranked in the top 40.
The Twins selected Buxton with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft. Since then he’s been regarded as one of the best all-around talents in the minor leagues.
“When he’s 100 percent, Buxton is the epitome of the five-tool player. He has a simple, quick swing that generates a ton of bat speed. His power, which often doesn’t come until later in development, has already started showing up in games, and there’s more in the tank there. He has as much speed as anyone in the Minors and he’s a skilled baserunner to boot.”
Here are @MLB's Top 5 Prospects:
1 @OfficialBuck103
2 @KrisBryant_23
3 C. Correa
4 @Lindor12BC
5 @Addison_Russell pic.twitter.com/gzOT0Gi3wu— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 31, 2015
Injuries slowed Buxton in 2014. A nagging wrist injury in spring training hung with him through the early part of the season. Then in his first game after a promotion to Double-A, a horrific collision in right-center field ended his season. He then broke a finger while playing in the Arizona Fall League.
“It seemed at times like we were a little snakebitten,” Twins minor league farm director Brad Steil told 1500 ESPN at TwinsFest. “Not only Byron and Miguel, but even Nick Gordon broke his finger in the playoffs. We lost Kohl Stewart and Lewis Thorpe in the playoffs, Mitch Garber in the playoffs in Cedar Rapids. So we had our fair share of injuries last year. Hopefully we’ll have that regression to the mean this season and have a little better luck with our health.”
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Keith Law ranked the Twins minor league system as the second best in all of Major League Baseball. Here is a list of who he believes are the Twins’ top 10 current prospects.
- Byron Buxton CF
- Miguel Sano 3B
- Alex Meyer RHP
- Nick Gordon SS
- Kohl Stewart RHP
- Jose Berrios RHP
- Lewis Thorp LHP
- Eddie Rosario CF/2B
- Jorge Polanco SS
- Amaurys Minier LF/1B
MLB Pipeline also listed Sano at No. 11, while pitching prospects Meyer and Berrios were 29th and 32nd, respectively. Last year’s first round pick, Nick Gordon, was ranked 34th and Stewart rounded out the Twins in the Top 50 at 36.
