Byron Buxton to play for High-A Ft. Myers today
By Mike Marteny
The top prospect in baseball is finally returning, just not to a field (or television set, for that matter) near you. Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton has been cleared to play today for the High-A Ft. Myers Miracle.
If he plays well there, a trip to the AA New Britain Rock Cats will not be far off.
More from Minnesota Twins
- MLB standings ordered by hard hit rate: Struggling Cardinals still cracking bats
- 3 teams that still wouldn’t be World Series contenders after trading for Shohei Ohtani
- Juan Soto rumors: 5 monstrous trade packages to land the Padres star
- Immaculate Grid baseball: Answers, connections, hints for Grid 108 (July 19)
- MLB standings ordered by FanGraphs postseason chances: Braves take control
Buxton sprained hit left wrist while diving for a ball in a spring training game in mid-March. His recovery has been slow at best.
Buxton did return to action for a few games in early May before re-aggravating the wrist and missing another two months.
The 20 year old Buxton has hit just .150 this year with a double, a homer, and five RBI in five games with the Miracle in May.
Last season, Buxton hit .334 with 12 homers, 18 triples, 19 doubles, 77 RBI, and 55 steals between Class A Cedar Rapids and High A Ft. Myers.
It was the dream of Twins fans everywhere to see Buxton in the majors this season. Some people even speculated that he would get the call in July instead of September.
Now a promotion past AA seems highly unlikely, no matter what he does on the field. He simply missed too much developmental time this season with the wrist injury.
Buxton’s first trip to the major leagues has probably been delayed until at least next September.
He is expected to participate in the Arizona Fall League after the season to make up for some of the lost time. However, if he performs well next spring, the Twins might be tempted to bring him north due to the continuing struggles of Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia.