Buxton for the (below) Avg. fan

[bubu dubu.]

Why are we comparing Buxton to the best player in baseball? Is it just because they were both #1 prospects at one point?

[jakazz30]

Why are we comparing Buxton to the best player in baseball? Is it just because they were both #1 prospects at one point?

Yes!!!!
When you have a player that had been hyped locally and nationally as much as Buxton.....its a fair comparison.

[bubu dubu.]

I really don't think its fair to put Trout type comparisons on any player.

How about the guy taken over him in that draft in Correa? Buxton still loses the comparison, but I think it would be a little more fair to not hold him to Trout standards for his first few years in the league, as well as the rest of his career.

[jakazz30]

I really don't think its fair to put Trout type comparisons on any player.

How about the guy taken over him in that draft in Correa? Buxton still loses the comparison, but I think it would be a little more fair to not hold him to Trout standards for his first few years in the league, as well as the rest of his career.

No....he'll never be as good as Trout..
but the hype created the comparison....and that's what was being discussed.
Nobody ever was given the impression (at least nationally) that Hicks was in that kind of elite group.
Buxton was.

[ForCaleb]

I really don't think its fair to put Trout type comparisons on any player.

How about the guy taken over him in that draft in Correa? Buxton still loses the comparison, but I think it would be a little more fair to not hold him to Trout standards for his first few years in the league, as well as the rest of his career.

No....he'll never be as good as Trout..
but the hype created the comparison....and that's what was being discussed.
Nobody ever was given the impression (at least nationally) that Hicks was in that kind of elite group.
Buxton was.

I think we all agree that Buxton had/has better raw talent than Hicks. As Twins fans, we had something to be excited about In Buxton, but I figured we were all under the assumption it was to the level of Trout.

[zeitgeist]

Why are we comparing Buxton to the best player in baseball? Is it just because they were both #1 prospects at one point?

Yes!!!!
When you have a player that had been hyped locally and nationally as much as Buxton.....its a fair comparison.

Now compare Trout to every other #1 prospect in the history of baseball up through their age 25 season and everyone will look worse than Trout.

A fatal flaw is to think that scouting reports are static. They are an evaluation of who a player is at a specific time, obviously people should probably have adjusted their expectations of Buxton years ago so I'm not sure why people are still holding onto this Trout thing, it's petty. The unfortunate reality is that the hit tool is the most difficult thing to scout because minor league hitters are playing against minor league pitchers. Even small differences can make a huge difference. I don't know if Buxton just completely lacks hand eye coordination for the highest levels or if its his pitch recognition but it's very good at the minor league level but completely falls apart in the pros. He's not the first high prospect to underwhelm.

[ForCaleb]

Imo Buxton's pitch recognition has been better to start this year compared to previous years. I'd like to see him walk more, but he's swinging at better pitches this year. He doesn't look lost at the plate.

[jakazz30]

Hype?
How much time was devoted in yesterday's broadcast to "gushing" over Buxton's triple? ( watched the rebroadcast)..
Barely a mention about Polanco's......
and who actually has more triples this season?

Hmmmm.

[weimy froob]

this guy needs to be in the lineup for this team to be all that it can be.

that is all.

[Jimtown guy]

this guy needs to be in the lineup for this team to be all that it can be.

that is all.

Correct

[weimy froob]

[salamander]

I find it odd that the same guy who mocked me and tried to burn me by saying he doesn't think I know much about the Twins because I thought Buxton and Sano hype level was off the charts compared to other MN Twins is now essentially using my point in this other thread with different people.

Odd.

[boxter432]

I don't know the updated numbers through yesterday, but with Buxton, the Twins are nearly a .700 team, and without him they are under .500...his impact is HUGE. many reasons for this...his increased OBP and hitting abililty this season, being the best def player in the league, adding speed and hitting to the bottom of the lineup, and not having to have infielders play outfield (arraez/adrianza) with Kep having to slide to CF a bunch or have Cave there.

[RubeTube]

He's still a disappointment imo. He was billed as a "Franchise changer"

He's a really good "Glue guy" at this point. At least he turned into what he is because it looked bad for awhile.

He was hyped to be WAY more than what be became though. He was supposed to be a game changing star and turned out to be a good, solid player.

[Sidewinder2k2]

He's still a disappointment imo. He was billed as a "Franchise changer"

He's a really good "Glue guy" at this point. At least he turned into what he is because it looked bad for awhile.

He was hyped to be WAY more than what be became though. He was supposed to be a game changing star and turned out to be a good, solid player.

It happens. More often than not. With 29 more teams than just us.

[RubeTube]

He's still a disappointment imo. He was billed as a "Franchise changer"

He's a really good "Glue guy" at this point. At least he turned into what he is because it looked bad for awhile.

He was hyped to be WAY more than what be became though. He was supposed to be a game changing star and turned out to be a good, solid player.

It happens. More often than not. With 29 more teams than just us.

I get that. It seems rarely anyone pans out here though. They used to but ever since the Hunter, Santana etc crop, it's been pretty poor.

No knock to Buxton but if this if what you thought he was back then, you wouldn't be that excited.

I mean really.. Is he even better than Span?

He does have time to get better also. I'm just saying right at this moment.

[salamander]

He's still a disappointment imo. He was billed as a "Franchise changer"

He's a really good "Glue guy" at this point. At least he turned into what he is because it looked bad for awhile.

He was hyped to be WAY more than what be became though. He was supposed to be a game changing star and turned out to be a good, solid player.

It happens. More often than not. With 29 more teams than just us.

I get that. It seems rarely anyone pans out here though. They used to but ever since the Hunter, Santana etc crop, it's been pretty poor.

No knock to Buxton but if this if what you thought he was back then, you wouldn't be that excited.

I mean really.. Is he even better than Span?

He does have time to get better also. I'm just saying right at this moment.

He is far better than Span, at least defensively. I don't know about hitting and all that.

[Joboo]

Is he better than Span.. shows how little you know about the game... he overall impact on the game is immense... he is simply the best fielder in the game today... with him in the lineup on the field the Twins win it’s just that simple... the concern has always been durability. We love that he attacks with reckless abandon but it’s also what gets him hurt.

Span was a legit starter and solid major leaguer but...and this is key...if Buxton can consistently stay on the field he has star impact on the game.

[RubeTube]

Is he better than Span.. shows how little you know about the game... he overall impact on the game is immense... he is simply the best fielder in the game today... with him in the lineup on the field the Twins win it’s just that simple... the concern has always been durability. We love that he attacks with reckless abandon but it’s also what gets him hurt.

He is a worse hitter than Span is he not?

Also, how long has Buxton been playing at this level? Last year at this time most were saying he isn't even a major leaguer.

He's a hell of a defensive player and ok at the plate.

I may have under sold him a bit but he's not even close to what we thought he would be.

Maybe he will become that. He's not there yet though.

[Sidewinder2k2]

He's still a disappointment imo. He was billed as a "Franchise changer"

He's a really good "Glue guy" at this point. At least he turned into what he is because it looked bad for awhile.

He was hyped to be WAY more than what be became though. He was supposed to be a game changing star and turned out to be a good, solid player.

It happens. More often than not. With 29 more teams than just us.

I get that. It seems rarely anyone pans out here though. They used to but ever since the Hunter, Santana etc crop, it's been pretty poor.

No knock to Buxton but if this if what you thought he was back then, you wouldn't be that excited.

I mean really.. Is he even better than Span?

He does have time to get better also. I'm just saying right at this moment.

His defense alone gives him an edge on Span (who was a fine defensive CF, but nothing special and had a pea shooter for an arm). Plus Span didn't come up until he was 24, Buck is now 25.

Going back to Hunter, He sucked until he was 24, 25. Made the All-Star team at 26.

The group around him though, the two guys in the OF specifically, makes up for the stud that he is not, because neither of them were projected to be near what they are.

[The Replacements]

Denard Span's career WAR is 26.2 in 11 years of playing. His best season was age 28 with a WAR of 4.9

Byron Buxton's career WAR is 9.7 in 5 seasons (385 games). His best season was age 23 with a WAR of 5.1 - He would eclipse that this year if he played a full season.

Right now Buxton can be criticized for being injury prone. He is a 6 win player and still only 25 years old. He is not Mike Trout and those comparisons were always wrong. If he improves even a little bit on his .815 OPS he will be among the best players in the game excluding Trout. The bottom line is the Twins are a much better team when he plays.

[Cripes]

Denard Span's career WAR is 26.2 in 11 years of playing. His best season was age 28 with a WAR of 4.9

Byron Buxton's career WAR is 9.7 in 5 seasons (385 games). His best season was age 23 with a WAR of 5.1 - He would eclipse that this year if he played a full season.

Right now Buxton can be criticized for being injury prone. He is a 6 win player and still only 25 years old. He is not Mike Trout and those comparisons were always wrong. If he improves even a little bit on his .815 OPS he will be among the best players in the game excluding Trout. The bottom line is the Twins are a much better team when he plays.

Voice of reason.

[flexbuffchest]

Denard Span's career WAR is 26.2 in 11 years of playing. His best season was age 28 with a WAR of 4.9

Byron Buxton's career WAR is 9.7 in 5 seasons (385 games). His best season was age 23 with a WAR of 5.1 - He would eclipse that this year if he played a full season.

Right now Buxton can be criticized for being injury prone. He is a 6 win player and still only 25 years old. He is not Mike Trout and those comparisons were always wrong. If he improves even a little bit on his .815 OPS he will be among the best players in the game excluding Trout. The bottom line is the Twins are a much better team when he plays.

Exactly and he's doing just that. Key is just consistency and health for Buxton.

[zeitgeist]

Comparisons with Trout were more comparisons with what Trout was in the minors. In the minors, Trout and Buxton were pretty similar players but Trout essentially hit the billion dollar lottery in terms of possible outcomes for where his career could go. He surpassed what anyone thought possible, there's a reason he was drafted in the 20s in the first place. There isn't a player alive that comes out favorably to a comparison with Mike Trout.

Buxton hasn't quite lived up to expectations because they were so freaking high but he's still a very good player overall, when he plays, and people need to stop underestimating the value of defense.

[The Replacements]

Comparisons with Trout were more comparisons with what Trout was in the minors. In the minors, Trout and Buxton were pretty similar players but Trout essentially hit the billion dollar lottery in terms of possible outcomes for where his career could go. He surpassed what anyone thought possible, there's a reason he was drafted in the 20s in the first place. There isn't a player alive that comes out favorably to a comparison with Mike Trout.

Buxton hasn't quite lived up to expectations because they were so freaking high but he's still a very good player overall, when he plays, and people need to stop underestimating the value of defense.

I think expectations were based on what his ceiling was. He is a 6 win player right now at age 25 with a slightly better than .800 OPS. Any team would take that in a minute. The exciting thing about Buxton is he's just 25 and still getting better. We could see some really special years ahead if he stays healthy.

[Joboo]

And he is hurt again.... jesus he is a superstar in the waiting if he can just stay healthy


Those who mention Mike Trout are unfair since that guy is the best player of this generation and will go down as one of the best to ever play the game. Mike Trout is unreal.

[weimy froob]

[weimy froob]

And he is hurt again.... jesus he is a superstar in the waiting if he can just stay healthy

[RubeTube]

And he is hurt again.... jesus he is a superstar in the waiting if he can just stay healthy


Those who mention Mike Trout are unfair since that guy is the best player of this generation and will go down as one of the best to ever play the game. Mike Trout is unreal.

Before we call him a "Superstar", let's see him make a all star game first.

This is his first year where he has actually looked good.

Remember a couple years ago when Sano looked like a all generation talent? I do.

[Sidewinder2k2]

This kid is all class. I just wish he'd be able to stay healthy. Most of his injuries seem to be because he plays the game all out.