Byron Buxton's Hyped Debut Introduces MLB to Its Next Big Young Star

If you love gazing at hyped prospects, 2015 has been the season for you. Kris Bryant, Noah Syndergaard, Joey Gallo, Carlos Correa—MLB has welcomed a constellation of young stars to its galaxy.

On Sunday, Byron Buxton shot into view.

Yes, the touted outfielder—who MLB.com labeled the game's No. 1 prospect—went 0-for-4. But he did score the winning run in the top of the ninth as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Texas Rangers, 4-3.

More importantly, he kicked off a career that has "can't miss" written all over it.

"It was amazing, especially making your debut and scoring the winning run," Buxton said after the game, per MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. "It's an amazing feeling. It's a day I'll cherish forever."

With Double-A Chattanooga, the lanky 21-year-old swiped 20 bases in 22 tries to go along with a .283/.351/.489 slash line, 12 triples and six home runs. Now, he joins a Minnesota squad that's been arguably the year's biggest surprise. With Sunday's win, the Twins moved to 34-28, good for second place in the American League Central, 1.5 games back of the Kansas City Royals. 

After going 20-7 in May, Minnesota has stumbled in June. Coming into Sunday, they had dropped five straight and nine of 12 in the calendar month.

Buxton has the speed and on-base abilities to contribute out of the lineup's top spot. But, as manager Paul Molitor told reporters before the game, he "didn't want to burden [Buxton] with the responsibility of hitting leadoff right out of the chute," and instead slotted him ninth.

Wherever he bats, Buxton figures to give opposing pitchers trouble. He has the complete-package attributes—the wheels, the pop, the glove—of baseball's post-steroid wave.

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

He still has to prove it between the lines, obviously. Many of this season's blue-chip call-ups have made an instant impact; the race for Rookie of the Year in both leagues figures to be spirited.

But adjustment periods are common, and minor league success doesn't guarantee anything at the highest level.

Buxton has already dealt with adversity, as ESPN's Keith Law notes:

"

Very little went right in 2014 for Lord Byron, who suffered everything but leeching during a season that saw him healthy enough for just 181 total at-bats, including his stint in the Arizona Fall League that also ended due to an injury. Buxton remained in great physical shape throughout his ordeals, and in October he still showed most of the same tools that made him baseball's best prospect going into 2014, though the rust in his bat was evident and he has lost a lot of important development time.

"

Given all that, there was reason to think we wouldn't see Buxton in the big leagues until September, particularly for a rebuilding Minnesota team that could afford to be patient.

Then Buxton tore up Double-A, and the Twins kept winning. Enter stage right, Mr. Buxton.

And enter sprinting, because that's a sight to see. 

"It is like a cartoon watching him run," said Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. "You think there’s going to be music or something. People get on their feet. They're excited."

The Twins are hoping that excitement is contagious. As inspiring as their Cinderella tale has been so far, they'll be hard-pressed to keep pace with the defending AL champion Royals, not to mention the heavy-hitting Detroit Tigers and even the Cleveland Indians, who just called up a touted prospect of their own, shortstop Francisco Lindor.

But that's a discussion for another day. At the moment, let's celebrate the latest addition to the MLB universe—a star whose ascent we'll be following closely.

All statistics current as of June 14 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.