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| (William DeShazer/Naples Daily News) |
By Nathaniel
Stoltz | @stoltz_baseball
In the
September issue of Big Leagues Monthly | Magazine, I wrote up a “scouting notebook” of sorts with my thoughts about
players I had seen in person in the past month. I’ve had the
opportunity to see over a dozen games involving several highly-touted
prospects, encapsulating the Carolina League, the South Atlantic League, and
the Appalachian League. Here are my thoughts on some of the most notable names
I saw—I have more to share beyond this, but that can wait until next month!
Byron Buxton, OF, Twins
(Rookie-Advanced Elizabethton)
Buxton, the
second overall pick in the 2012 draft, clearly boasts all sorts of tools. He’s
got wiry strength, power projection, and plenty of athleticism. However, he’s
just 18 and has a lot standing between himself and the majors; at times, he
looked like the rawest player on the field in the Appalachian League, taking
fastballs down the middle, waving at curves in the dirt ten inches off the
plate, and misplaying balls in the outfield. But for every head-scratching play
he makes, he’ll wow you with something you don’t expect an 18-year-old to be
able to do, like pull his hands inside a fastball on the inside corner and rip
it to left field, or lay down a perfect drag bunt. He clearly has
first-division upside if he can refine his game, but at this stage, any number
of developmental paths are possible. Just because his issues are theoretically
fixable doesn’t necessarily mean they will be fixed, after all. As with former
Twins first-round outfielder Aaron Hicks, it could be years before we know
quite how well Buxton’s tools will translate.