The newest, biggest question about the Minnesota Twins if whether Korean slugger Byung Ho Park’s power will translate to the big leagues, but another topic to pay close attention to over the next 3-4 months is what the team will do with top prospect Byron Buxton.
In 46 games and 138 plate appearances last season, Buxton hit just .209 with an on-base percentage of .250. There’s no doubt he’ll get the chance to compete for the starting center field job in spring training, but it’s not a guarantee that he’ll win it.
“There’s similarities to (Aaron) Hicks in that he should not have been in the major leagues when he was,” Twins Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Radcliffe said Wednesday in an interview with Souhan Uncensored. “He wasn’t ready to hit ready to hit yet, I’m not sure he’s ready to hit right now. I think there’s still a development period. I have no doubt he will be a star player – I still believe that whole heartedly – and it’s not going to be five years from now, either … it’ll be sometime fairly soon.
“Ideally, maybe the perfect scenario… he doesn’t crack the spring training (roster).”
“I still have a high level of confidence he’s going to be one of the better players in the game for the next decade,” Radcliff added.
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