It’s Super Bowl week so the Seahawks and Broncos have the top headline on every major sports website around, right?
Wrong.
As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the top story on ESPN.com was all about Minnesota Twins super prospect Byron Buxton, who garnered his second No. 1 ranking in a list of the top 100 baseball talents in the minor leagues. Buxton took home the No. 1 spot on MLB Network’s list last week.
ESPN’s Keith Law ranked Buxton No. 1 for a variety of reasons, many of which are the same as MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, who raved about Buxton in his rankings.
Buxton took the Minor Leagues by storm in his first full professional season, showing why many evaluators had rated him as the top talent in the 2012 Draft class. He excelled in the Midwest League and the Florida State League, and he finished the year by getting a taste of more experienced competition in the Arizona Fall League.
Everywhere Buxton went, he stood out as the top talent on the field and a legitimate five-tool player. He has a simple, direct swing and creates excellent bat speed. Buxton’s power has already been better than expected and scouts expect it to improve more as he grows. His speed grades out at the top of the scale and he knows how to use it on the basepaths. Defensively, Buxton covers plenty of ground in center field and has good instincts in the outfield.
Buxton was named Baseball America’s 2013 Minor League Player of the Year. In two levels of Class A, he hit .334, with 18 triples, 12 home runs and 55 stolen bases.
Miguel Sano, a third base prospect for the Twins, is also ranked in the top five. As good as the Buxton/Sano combination is, Mayo believes Buxton and right-hander Alex Meyer form the most promising player-pitcher combo in baseball’s pipelines.
Fans will be able to chat online with Buxton at 1:30 p.m. today on ESPN.com.
