4 years agoMinnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton may be reaching his sky-high potential in 2021. Buxton is off to a red-hot start, slashing .481/.548/.1.185 with five homers through his first 31 plate appearances- and he has the underlying statistics to back up the incredible slash line. Not only is the 27-year-old hitting the ball harder than ever before- 72.7 percent hard-hit rate, third in the majors- but he's striking out at the lowest rate of his career and is whiffing less as well, two of the weaker areas in his game in past seasons. Buxton has turned himself into a complete hitter but one that can also continue to wreak havoc on the basepaths, as he is one of just three players in baseball that ranks in the 95th-percentile or better in both hard-hit rate and sprint speed, along with Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Trout. Buxton already looks like one of the biggest ADP values in fantasy baseball, and he could make a run at an MVP award if he can continue to stay healthy.--Tim Capurso
Source: Thomas Harrigan