Buying Byron Buxton
“THIS IS THE YEAR”, we seem to hear it every year for the past decade about Byron Buxton. BUT WAIT he’s still only 23.
What’s important to remember about Buxton is that while he always excelled at the minor league levels, he also spent a lot of time on the DL. In today’s world of screaming on twitter for Vlad Jr. to get called up for the playoff run, it’s easy to forget that hitting baseballs is hard, and the only way to get better is to get more reps. It’s also important to remember that progress is not linear for baseball players.
The first half was much of the same disappointment for the former #1 overall prospect. But during the second half of the season, something has seemed to click at the plate. His line drives and hard-hit balls are up. His strikeout rate is way down. As you can see in this Fangraphs chart, the amount that he swings is down, and the contact he makes when he does swing is up.
When you have speed like Buxton, putting the ball in play is all you need you to do. The rest will take care of itself. If you’re going to buy Buxton, do it right now before he turns into the guy everyone thought he would be.
