Buxton remains confident his hitting will improve

If there has been one weakness in Twins star prospect Byron Buxton's game so far as a major leaguer, it has been his hitting. He hit .209 over 129 at-bats in 46 games last season with the Twins. So far in 46 at-bats during spring training, Buxton has hit .238 (11-for-46) with three RBI and seven runs scored.

He can do everything a top-ranked baseball prospect should, except he has not yet proven himself at the plate.

The center fielder is regarded as the No. 2 prospect in baseball, behind infielder Corey Seager of the Dodgers organization, for good reasons. But even Buxton admits hitting at the major league level is his biggest challenge.

"It has [been hard], it takes time to get adjusted," he said. "For some it takes longer than others, and mine has taken a little longer than expected, so you know I have to work hard at it and not press at it and just go out there and let my athleticism take over."

Still, Buxton said he is not concerned about his hitting at this point.

"I'm still young, still going to get some more experience and really, they just tell me my hitting will come," he said. "I'm going to keep working hard every day in the cages and preparing myself for the game and just try to go out there and see what happens. But there's no pressure. I'm going to do what I can to help us win games."

One of the people who will have a big impact on Buxton's improvement is hitting coach Tom Brunansky. Buxton said they are working diligently, though Brunansky is also comfortable with where Buxton is as a hitter.

Buxton's confidence remains high that he'll be able to hit in the majors.

"It's going to take a little adjustment, but you have to make adjustments to improve yourself, and you have to fail to succeed," he said. "I'm just working day by day and trying to get myself better and prepare myself for the game to be able to go out there and do good things."

There's plenty of reason for Buxton to be confident. While he has struggled to hit initially at several minor league levels, he has always come around and hit extremely well.

In his first eight games with the rookie-ball Gulf Coast League Twins in 2012, Buxton went 1-for-27 (.037) before hitting .295 (18-for-61) over his next 19 games and getting promoted to the Appalachian Rookie League with Elizabethton. There he hit .179 (7-for-39) in his first 11 games, then hit .395 (15-for-38) over the final 10 games.

In 2013 he was at low Class A Cedar Rapids and hit well for two months. He was then promoted to high Class A Fort Myers, where he hit .245 over his first 23 games (24-for-98) and then hit .392 (47-for-120) over his final 34 games to end his second season.

Buxton feels like he continues to improve.

"I feel pretty good," he said. "I had some good at-bats, not swinging at as many pitches out of the strike zone, and just really getting up there and putting the ball in play a little bit more and trying to get on base."

One way the Twins want Buxton to improve his average is by using his speed and bunting when the opportunity presents itself.

"I bunt every day," he said. "Just after we get done with batting practice, I go to the back field and work on bunting for a hit and pushing. That's going to be a big part of my game and just have to keep increasing and working on that to improve what I'm doing."

Buxton is also keeping an eye on his teammate Miguel Sano, who is learning to play right field.

For now, Buxton might hit at the bottom of the batting order. If the Twins are to reach the playoffs, it will be imperative for Buxton to show improvement, but he also might make his batting average less important if he provides great fielding and all-around play.

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