When the Minnesota Twins selected Byron Buxton with the second overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft, just after the Houston Astros took Carlos Correa, he was immediately hailed as the future of the franchise. With the major league team struggling at the time, Buxton represented a beacon of hope, a superstar in the making whose rise through the minor leagues was followed with immense anticipation.
Initially, Buxton’s raw athleticism overshadowed his baseball polish. During an early batting practice at Target Field shortly after being drafted, the 18-year-old appeared to be a superior athlete still honing his craft, hitting a surprising number of balls into the batting cage netting.
That rawness soon gave way to dominance. Playing for the Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels, Buxton’s performance drew comparisons to Mike Trout’s earlier surge through the same Midwest League. He showcased the coveted five-tool skill set teams dream of, once launching a home run that cleared the left-field fence and struck a nearby house.
His game-changing speed often left opponents stunned. “He would hit a routine ground ball, and beat it out, and the other team would be in shock,” recalled Tommy Watkins, Buxton’s coach in Cedar Rapids and current Twins third base coach. “He would hit a comebacker to the mound, and almost beat it out. Other teams had trouble believing what they were seeing.”
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