Twins promote top outfield prospect Byron Buxton

The Minnesota Twins will promote outfielder Byron Buxton from Double-A before tomorrow's game.

Buxton, once a consensus No. 1 overall prospect by Baseball America, MLB.com, and Baseball Prospectus, was rated the second-best prospect by Baseball America prior to this season (and still first by MLB and Baseball Prospectus).

With the Twins trying to maintain a postseason spot, they felt the pressure to promote Buxton to win more games, similar to how the Astros promoted Carlos Correa to hold their AL West lead.

Considering the Twins' current center fielder, Aaron Hicks, has a 67 OPS+, the decision to hold Buxton in the minors became harder to justify, considering his .283/.351/.489/.840 line with six homers and 37 runs batted in over 268 plate appearances.

Minnesota selected Buxton with the second overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft out of a Georgia High School and he has progressively moved the minor leagues, but now will be skipping Triple-A on his way to the Major Leagues.

Here's the scouting report on Buxton from MLB.com:

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When he's 100 percent, Buxton is the epitome of the five-tool player. He has a simple, quick swing that generates a ton of bat speed. His power, which often doesn't come until later in development, has already started showing up in games, and there's more in the tank there. He has as much speed as anyone in the Minors and he's a skilled baserunner to boot. He's a plus defender in center field, using his speed for outstanding range, while also possessing a cannon for an arm."

Buxton was in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak prior to this call-up, hitting .421/.489/.500.

"For me to (get the news) in front of teammates and coaches was an unbelievable moment," Buxton said via Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. I’m very, very excited right now."

--Devan Fink