Byron Buxton, the No. 2 overall pick last June, was named Twins Minor League Player of the Month for April, according to the Pioneer Press.
Paying center field for Class A Cedar Rapids, Buxton is hitting .382 with five home runs, 23 RBI and a combined on-base/slugging percentage of 1.179 at the start of his first full season with the team.
The PiPress compares Buxton, 19, to Houston Astros prospect Carlos Correa, who was picked picked first overall last June. Correa’s hitting .221 with a .781 OPS and 25 strikeouts in 68 at-bats in the same Midwest league.
Buxton beat out Class A Fort Myers third baseman Miguel Sano for the honor, which is bequeathed upon players by the Twins front office and comes with a crystal baseball. Sano is hitting .363 with nine home runs, 25 RBI and an OPS of 1.157 in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League, but has five errors at third base.
Top pitching kudos went to Fort Myers right-hander D.J. Baxendale, a 10th-round pick out of the University of Arkansas last summer. Baxendale went 4-0 with a 1.84 ERA through five starts, including 25 strikeouts to six walks.
Expectations are already high for Buxton, with no less an authority than Paul Molitor calling him “pretty special.”
