In late April and early May, Byron Buxton was playing well enough that he garnered multiple national headlines as being among baseball's best players.
Twins need more from their best players — starting with Byron Buxton
Buxton rode a hot start to an All-Star berth, but his recent body of work leaves a lot to be desired, especially for someone who was called 'the best player in the world' just a few months ago.
August 22, 2022 at 2:16PM
MLB's web site asked if he was the best player in baseball right now. The New York Times declared, on May 8, "Byron Buxton of the Twins is 'the best player in the world.'"
It didn't necessarily seem like hyperbole based on Buxton's production at the plate and in the field over the season's first month. But whether you want to consider it inevitable regression or some sort of curse that accompanies national accolades, Buxton spent one month this year being excellent and 3.5 months being pretty average.
If we are talking about reasons the Twins' offense can politely be described as inconsistent these days — as Patrick Reusse and I did on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast — we need to have a conversation about Buxton's lack of production.
From May 7 through Sunday, Buxton is hitting .205 with 91 strikeouts in 269 at bats. He does have 19 homers and a .759 OPS in that span, showing that when he hits the ball it often goes a long way.
But his seeming all-or-nothing approach leaves him with too many holes in his swing and makes him vulnerable during important situations.
I didn't realize just how vulnerable until a graphic flashed during Saturday's 4-3, 10 inning loss to the Rangers. Buxton came to the plate with runners on first and second and no outs in the bottom of the 10th with the Twins trailing 4-2, and it was noted that he is hitting .148 with runners in scoring position.
Was that a misprint? It's not. After Buxton struck out looking, the numbers were even slightly worse: 9 for 62 (.145) with runners in scoring position. What about two outs and runners in scoring position? Just 1 for 20 on the season.
My colleague La Velle E. Neal III had a good column a few days ago on the Twins and needing more from $35.1 million shortstop Carlos Correa. On Sunday, after the Twins were shut out 7-0, Correa said of the offense: "The most important thing is not to hit the panic button. ... There's still time to figure it out."
But for much of the last four months, Buxton hasn't had it figured out. It's been a concern for a while, and if the Twins don't get more from Buxton they have no chance at the playoffs.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
