Byron Buxton

Byron Keiron Buxton (born December 18, 1993) is an American professional baseball center fielder and designated hitter for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He was considered by some baseball analysts to be the most talented player available in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, and was selected as the second overall pick.

Considered a five-tool player, MLB.com rated Buxton the best prospect available in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.

The Minnesota Twins selected Buxton with the second overall pick in the 2012 draft.

Buxton signed a contract with the Twins on June 12, 2012, that included a $6 million signing bonus.

He made his professional debut in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) with the Gulf Coast Twins of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL), where he batted .216 in 26 games.

Later in the year, he was promoted to the Elizabethton Twins of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, and batted .286 in 21 games.

He was named the top prospect in the GCL.

He won Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year Award in 2013.

Buxton started the 2013 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Class A Midwest League.

After he batted .340 with eight home runs and 32 stolen bases to start the season, the Twins promoted Buxton to the Fort Myers Miracle of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in June.

By midseason, MLB.com, Keith Law of ESPN.com, and Baseball America viewed Buxton as the best prospect in baseball.

He represented the Twins at the All-Star Futures Game.

With Fort Myers, Buxton compiled a .326 average with four home runs, 22 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases.

After the season, Buxton was named the Midwest League Most Valuable Player.

He also won both the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award and the Topps Minor League Player of the Year Award.

The Twins invited Buxton to participate in spring training in 2014.

He injured his left wrist, spraining his pisotriquetral joint, while diving for a ball and opened the 2014 season on the disabled list.

He was activated on May 4, and assigned to Fort Myers.

After playing in five games with the Miracle, Buxton reinjured his wrist.

Buxton batted .240 in 30 games before receiving a promotion to the New Britain Rock Cats of the Class AA Eastern League on August 11.

In his first game with New Britain, on August 13, Buxton collided with fellow outfielder Mike Kvasnicka.

Buxton was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a concussion.

The Twins shut Buxton down for the remainder of the regular season, but assigned him to the Arizona Fall League after the season.

Despite his having missed the majority of the 2014 season, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus rated Buxton as the best prospect in baseball at the start of the 2015 season, and Baseball America named him the # 2 prospect in 2015.

He was the second highest-rated prospect in baseball according to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus in 2015.

Buxton attended Appling County High School in Baxley, Georgia.

Buxton made his MLB debut in 2015 and he won the Gold Glove Award in 2017.

Buxton started playing baseball when he was six years old.

He attended Appling County High School in Baxley, Georgia, where he played for the school's baseball, basketball and football teams.

In his high school days, Buxton was given the nickname "Buck".

As a pitcher during his senior year, he had a 10–1 win–loss record with a 1.90 earned run average and 154 strikeouts in 81 innings pitched.

Buxton also threw a fastball that was recorded at 99 mph. His speed eventually led him to obtaining a well-above average speed rating of 70 as he left high school and readied for the draft.

Scouts noticed Buxton when he was 15 years old.

He was recruited to play on a traveling summer team.

He appeared in baseball showcases, including the East Coast Pro Showcase and Under Armour All-America Baseball Game.

As a senior in high school, Buxton hit for a .513 batting average with 38 stolen bases in 39 games.

Buxton committed to a college baseball scholarship with the University of Georgia, intending to attempt to walk on to the football team.

Buxton opened the 2015 season with the Twins' new Class AA affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League.

The Twins promoted Buxton to make his major-league debut on June 14.