Rookie of the Year Batter:
Byron Buxton
The Minnesota Twins gave us a little preview of Byron Buxton, MLB.com’s No. 1 rated prospect last year, in the 2015 season. He did not do a whole lot to impress in his first stint in the bigs, but we must look back at Mike Trout’s call-up season in 2011 where he had a slash line of .220/.281/.390.
Buxton is also a very young player at 22 years old and was signed to a contract straight out of Appling County High School in 2012. He definitely has some growing to do and will probably not reach the status of a Mike Trout, but he is in the conversation of five-tool players.
Although, Buxton’s initial showing in the MLB did not go as planned, he is still a top prospect with a whole hell of a lot of upside. The fact that the Twins will be willing to be patient with him at the plate because he has more defensive upside, should keep him in the majors long enough to get the hang of things.
He is a player that could, and should, bring you 20 home runs and 60-70 RBIs. To add to that, he is a very fast athlete and could also swipe 30 or so bases for you, which we all know is appreciated because base stealers are hard to come by these days.
