Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said that as long as Byron Buxton can contribute defensively and on the base paths, and as long as the Twins keep finding a way to stay in contention, there won't be a reason to send the 21-year-old center fielder back to the minors even though he has only three hits in 25 at-bats for a .120 batting average through his first eight days in the major leagues.
"Depending on all the things that surround him, if we're winning games and he's helping us win games on the defensive side of the ball and running the bases and so forth, we can wait on the bat," Ryan said. "Obviously a lot of things take care of themselves when you win, and some of the mistakes that are made you don't pay as much attention to. But we're also anticipating him producing and contributing because he's certainly capable."
Buxton, who was hitting .283 at Class AA Chattanooga, has struck out nine times in eight games, good for 36 percent of his at-bats. But over the past two games he has shown better plate discipline, drawing two walks Saturday against the Cubs and getting a single and his first stolen base in Sunday's 8-0 loss.
If you want to compare Buxton's debut with the greatest center fielder in Twins history, you will see that Kirby Puckett had a smoother transition from the minors to the majors when he debuted as a 24-year-old and went 4-for-5 at the plate against the Angels in Anaheim. Puckett, drafted out of college, hit .296 for his rookie 1984 season. Through his first eight games, Puckett hit .432 (16-for-37) with six runs scored and hit leadoff in each contest.
Still, it's important to remember that Buxton, who has hit ninth every game he has been up, won't turn 22 until Dec. 18. One positive for him is that he has had a tough time getting adjusted to nearly every level he has played at throughout the Twins organization, but has quickly learned each league and then dominated.
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. With Elizabethton, he hit .179 (7-for-39) in his first 11 games, then hit .395 (15-for-38) over the final 10 games of his first pro season.
In 2013, Buxton started 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.
In 2014, he started at Fort Myers and hit .143 (5-for-37) in his first 10 games and then hit .279 (24-for-86) over his next 20 games before being injured.