Mariner's Top 10 Prospects w/ Scouting Reports
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:56 am
#1 Byron Buxton, CF (MLB Minnesota Twins)
2014 Twins #1 Prospect - Baseball Prospectus
2014 Twins #1 Prospect - Baseball America
from BP:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/artic ... leid=22250
Position: CF
DOB: 12/18/1993
Height/Weight: 6’2” 189 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted/Acquired: 1st round, 2012 draft, Appling County HS (Baxley, GA)
Previous Ranking: #1 (Org), #8 (Top 101)
2013 Stats: .326/.415/.472 at High-A Fort Myers (57 games), .341/.431/.559 at Low-A Cedar Rapids (68 games)
The Tools: 8 run; 6 arm; 7 potential glove; 7 raw; 6 potential hit
What Happened in 2013: With only a short-season resume to work with, we decided to rank Buxton in the top 10 in baseball coming into the year, and he rewarded our faith by blossoming into the top overall prospect in baseball.
Strengths: Well above-average athlete; elite run; glove could end up plus-plus or better; arm is plus; hit tool is advanced; lets balls travel deep into the zone; quick hands and explosive bat speed; power potential is plus (some sources suggest it could be plus-plus at maturity); advanced approach at the plate.
Weaknesses: Still transitioning from raw athlete to skill player; needs to refine baserunning utility; scout sources are mixed on future game power output; has struggled against plus breaking stuff.
Overall Future Potential: 8; elite potential
Realistic Role: High 6; first-division/all-star
Risk Factor/Injury History: Moderate risk; yet to play at Double-A level
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: Just give me a second to take a breath and collect my thoughts. The sky is the limit with Buxton, but you already knew that. He has a chance to be the best player in fantasy with his combination of tools—the same type of value that we’ve seen from Mike Trout the last two seasons. It’s a clear five-category profile with impact potential in steals.
The Year Ahead: Buxton is a monster athlete, with elite speed, near-elite potential in center field, a potent hit tool and raw power that some think could end up emerging as yet another plus-plus tool in the coming years. He will move to Double-A in 2014, and barring an unforeseen developmental setback, Buxton will likely taste major-league action as a 20-year-old. One scout suggested Buxton’s career floor was Torii Hunter, which is both a ridiculous bar of success to reach and an absolutely justifiable suggestion based on the physical gifts. I don’t even want to discuss what the ceiling might look like.
Major league ETA: Late 2014
From Baseball America:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2 ... g-reports/
Born: Dec. 18, 1993. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 190.
Drafted: HS—Baxley, Ga., 2012 (1st round). Signed by: Jack Powell.
Background: In consecutive years, Buxton won the BA High School Player of the Year and Minor League Player of the Year awards. He jumped directly onto the fast track after the Twins drafted him second overall in 2012, then gave him a $6 million bonus that remains the largest in franchise history. A product of rural Georgia, Buxton led Appling County High to the Georgia state 2-A championship as a senior. Still throwing 91 mph in the seventh and final inning, he recorded an 18-strikeout complete game in the title clincher. He helped Rookie-level Elizabethton win the Appalachian League title in 2012, then took his game to another level in 2013, ranking sixth in the minors in batting (.334) and seventh in on-base percentage (.424). The Twins aggressively sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he was shut down with eight games left with a strained left shoulder. He finished with a .212 average and .288 OBP in the AFL, but those numbers weren’t much different from what Mike Trout put up in 2011, the year before exploding onto the big league scene.
Scouting Report: Buxton’s combination of tools and production made him the talk of the minor leagues. Blessed with quick hands and strong wrists, he generates tremendous bat speed and keeps the bat in the zone for what seems like forever. Considering his rural background, he stunned scouts with his advanced approach at the plate and shows excellent discipline for such a young player. He is learning to backspin balls and can generate easy power to all fields, and his future home run power is one of scouts’ few questions about Buxton. Timed at 3.9 seconds to first from the right side, he is an 80 runner underway but still is working to improve his reads and instincts. He stole 55 bases at a 74 percent success rate that should climb as he refines his craft. Not even having a nail removed on his right big toe in late July could slow him down. He missed just five days. In the field, Buxton has tremendous arm strength and plus-plus range in center field. As his jumps and routes have improved, he habitually makes the difficult play look effortless. Quiet and still somewhat shy, Buxton is unfailingly polite and has a deep-seated work ethic that is second to none.
The Future: After the shoulder scare in Arizona, the Twins will be even more cautious than usual with Buxton. He should open 2014 at Double-A New Britain, where he will play for Jeff Smith, the same manager he had in the AFL. A late-season promotion seems logical if he performs, and Buxton should have every opportunity to seize the starting center field and leadoff spots with the Twins by Opening Day 2015.
2014 Twins #1 Prospect - Baseball Prospectus
2014 Twins #1 Prospect - Baseball America
from BP:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/artic ... leid=22250
Position: CF
DOB: 12/18/1993
Height/Weight: 6’2” 189 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted/Acquired: 1st round, 2012 draft, Appling County HS (Baxley, GA)
Previous Ranking: #1 (Org), #8 (Top 101)
2013 Stats: .326/.415/.472 at High-A Fort Myers (57 games), .341/.431/.559 at Low-A Cedar Rapids (68 games)
The Tools: 8 run; 6 arm; 7 potential glove; 7 raw; 6 potential hit
What Happened in 2013: With only a short-season resume to work with, we decided to rank Buxton in the top 10 in baseball coming into the year, and he rewarded our faith by blossoming into the top overall prospect in baseball.
Strengths: Well above-average athlete; elite run; glove could end up plus-plus or better; arm is plus; hit tool is advanced; lets balls travel deep into the zone; quick hands and explosive bat speed; power potential is plus (some sources suggest it could be plus-plus at maturity); advanced approach at the plate.
Weaknesses: Still transitioning from raw athlete to skill player; needs to refine baserunning utility; scout sources are mixed on future game power output; has struggled against plus breaking stuff.
Overall Future Potential: 8; elite potential
Realistic Role: High 6; first-division/all-star
Risk Factor/Injury History: Moderate risk; yet to play at Double-A level
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: Just give me a second to take a breath and collect my thoughts. The sky is the limit with Buxton, but you already knew that. He has a chance to be the best player in fantasy with his combination of tools—the same type of value that we’ve seen from Mike Trout the last two seasons. It’s a clear five-category profile with impact potential in steals.
The Year Ahead: Buxton is a monster athlete, with elite speed, near-elite potential in center field, a potent hit tool and raw power that some think could end up emerging as yet another plus-plus tool in the coming years. He will move to Double-A in 2014, and barring an unforeseen developmental setback, Buxton will likely taste major-league action as a 20-year-old. One scout suggested Buxton’s career floor was Torii Hunter, which is both a ridiculous bar of success to reach and an absolutely justifiable suggestion based on the physical gifts. I don’t even want to discuss what the ceiling might look like.
Major league ETA: Late 2014
From Baseball America:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2 ... g-reports/
Born: Dec. 18, 1993. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 190.
Drafted: HS—Baxley, Ga., 2012 (1st round). Signed by: Jack Powell.
Background: In consecutive years, Buxton won the BA High School Player of the Year and Minor League Player of the Year awards. He jumped directly onto the fast track after the Twins drafted him second overall in 2012, then gave him a $6 million bonus that remains the largest in franchise history. A product of rural Georgia, Buxton led Appling County High to the Georgia state 2-A championship as a senior. Still throwing 91 mph in the seventh and final inning, he recorded an 18-strikeout complete game in the title clincher. He helped Rookie-level Elizabethton win the Appalachian League title in 2012, then took his game to another level in 2013, ranking sixth in the minors in batting (.334) and seventh in on-base percentage (.424). The Twins aggressively sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he was shut down with eight games left with a strained left shoulder. He finished with a .212 average and .288 OBP in the AFL, but those numbers weren’t much different from what Mike Trout put up in 2011, the year before exploding onto the big league scene.
Scouting Report: Buxton’s combination of tools and production made him the talk of the minor leagues. Blessed with quick hands and strong wrists, he generates tremendous bat speed and keeps the bat in the zone for what seems like forever. Considering his rural background, he stunned scouts with his advanced approach at the plate and shows excellent discipline for such a young player. He is learning to backspin balls and can generate easy power to all fields, and his future home run power is one of scouts’ few questions about Buxton. Timed at 3.9 seconds to first from the right side, he is an 80 runner underway but still is working to improve his reads and instincts. He stole 55 bases at a 74 percent success rate that should climb as he refines his craft. Not even having a nail removed on his right big toe in late July could slow him down. He missed just five days. In the field, Buxton has tremendous arm strength and plus-plus range in center field. As his jumps and routes have improved, he habitually makes the difficult play look effortless. Quiet and still somewhat shy, Buxton is unfailingly polite and has a deep-seated work ethic that is second to none.
The Future: After the shoulder scare in Arizona, the Twins will be even more cautious than usual with Buxton. He should open 2014 at Double-A New Britain, where he will play for Jeff Smith, the same manager he had in the AFL. A late-season promotion seems logical if he performs, and Buxton should have every opportunity to seize the starting center field and leadoff spots with the Twins by Opening Day 2015.