Twins prospect Byron Buxton named Minor League Player of the Year

Aug 20, 2013; Ft Myers, FL, USA; Fort Myers Miracle center fielder Byron Buxton (7) in the dugout between innings against the Charlotte Stone Crabs at Hammond Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

If you didn’t know the name Byron Buxton before the beginning of the 2013 season, he did his very best to make sure that you knew his name at the end of the campaign.

Buxton, the 19-year-old outfielder who was selected #2 overall in the 2012 MLB Draft, was awarded with the high honor of being Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year on Wednesday, and he was certainly a deserving choice. In 554 combined plate appearances between low-A and high-A, Buxton stole 55 bases, hit .334, and posted an OPS of .944 while flashing the insane collection of tools that made him a top pick.

ESPN’s Keith Law has called Buxton his #1 overall prospect in baseball, and the rumblings of Buxton as a “tools only” player as he came out of rural Georgia seem to be far in the rearview mirror. The Twins are blessed with a suddenly exploding farm system, but Buxton is far and away the gem of the group, and it’s not out of the question that he could be a 50-steal, 25-home run type of player in the Major Leagues in the near future.

As for the Houston Astros, who famously passed on Buxton with the #1 overall pick, do you think they would go the other way if they had to do it all over again?

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