DWG posted that the Twins needed to go with one of the big arms at #2 in the draft. With Baltimore selecting Puerto-Rican shortstop and best Carlos available, Carlos Correa; the door was open for the Twins to pick their favorite mega-arm. They ended up taking a guy with a 99 MPH fastball, but he's a HS outfielder. Georgia high-schooler Byron Buxton (Appling County High) is considered by most to have the biggest upside in this draft. He's the protypical "five-tool" player; speed, range, power, average and overall sexiness. Check that, arm strength is the fifth one. Watch the video below, he has great bat speed and you can see the pop he gets off of the bat. He has tremendous outfield range and I've mentioned the arm strength. He has a 6.6 second 60 yard dash. He's drawn comparisons as a prospect to BJ Upton.
The downsides of Buxton are twofold: 1) he's not a pitcher and 2) he's 18. We'll have to wait a few years to see if he's the beast that many think he could be. Where will the Twins be at that time and how will they cope in the meantime? Will a 32 year old Mauer be anchoring the lineup in 3 years or sapping the payroll? Also, what of Arcia, Hicks, Benson and the other OF prospects? Chopped liver? Many of the top collegiate pitchers of late have taken about 100 innings of minor league pitching before reaching the majors. Appel could be such a player. You can't whine too much about the player with the most upside though.
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| Country Musician Sarah Buxton |
More to come as picks roll in. Remember, the Twins go #32, #42 and #63. I'm not staying up all night DWG, or whatever your name is.
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5 comments:
With the supposed arm strength of Brad Pitt from Troy you think he would be able to hit the catcher on the fly from 175 ft. The video clip showed him 1 hopping it there. Feel like Revere may have a better arm as he can at least hit the cut off man on the fly. Not too impressed based on that clip.
Yo Dawg,
I think more important is that he keeps the throw low and accurate there and you can definitely see some velocity. The catcher isn't running up the line in either direction and if he were an MLB catcher he catches those one hoppers. Plus, this throw was sweet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jEOvrNoBlE&feature=player_detailpage#t=37s
From everything I've heard about his speed I'm a little bit surprised he didn't just run the ball to home plate.
Anyone that has played organized baseball knows an outfielder is not supposed to throw the ball on the fly to the catcher; you one-hop it. MUCH easier for the catcher to catch, easlier for the cutoff man to catch and low throws without an arc will get there faster. This guy must be a soccer player.
A ball that skips is easier to catch then a ball on the fly? Is a pitch in the dirt easier for a catcher to catch then if the pitcher simply avoids the skipping and just throws it right into his mit? If a guy has the greatest arm in the world, he should be able to throw it on a line to home plate from 175 ft away.
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