Byron Buxton: Selection Makes the Twins Biggest Winners of 1st Round

Among all of the maybe-future-stars on this year's MLB draft board, there was one who stood out, and the Minnesota Twins snagged him.

In baseball, where only about half of all first-round picks ever end up having a meaningful career in the league, it's hard to say that one prospect is going to change a franchise, but if anyone was going to be that pick this year, it was Byron Buxton.

In him, the Twins have garnered either a crucial element of their future outfield or an extremely valuable trade chip, both of which will make them a dangerous team in the future.

Minnesota selected the outfielder from Appling County High School in Georgia with the second overall pick in this year's draft, which was just about the most perfect selection they could make. 

Of all the prospects on this year's board, Buxton is as much of a sure thing as there is. He's a five-tool player with incomparable speed that will make him a dangerous outfielder as well as a serious base-stealing threat.

He doesn't project as a pitcher, but he can hit 99 mph on the radar gun and recently pitched his team to a Class AA state championship, tallying 18 strikeouts along the way.

After Buxton's name was called on Monday night, Twins Director of Scouting Deron Johnson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Michael Carvell: 

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He’s a really good kid, hard worker, [and a] two-sport athlete. Everybody talks about his athleticism. He’s got a really good swing. We think he’s going to hit. We think he’ll hit anywhere from No. 1 in the order to No. 3. Tremendous, tremendous upside. 

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At 6'2" and 190 pounds, Buxton is incredibly athletic. He's a line-drive hitter and he has immense potential, which is scary, given how good he already is. He was a winning selection for the Twins all around.

Surrounding Buxton on the draft board were lots of players who were good, but. There were pitchers with incredible velocity, but they were coming off significant injuries. There were outfielders who were good defensively, but they showed big holes in their swings. Buxton doesn't have a lot of "buts" in his game.

If there's a such thing as a safe selection in the MLB draft, this is it.

Right now, the Twins may be dwelling at the bottom of the AL Central, but all of a sudden, the future looks a whole lot brighter.