Byron Buxton, the southern boy plucked out of rural Georgia to help make the Minnesota Twins relevant again, has grown up faster than most.
Just months removed from his 22nd birthday, Buxton is already a millionaire - he got a hefty signing bonus from the Twins a few years back - and father to 2-year-old Brixton. He's already taken his first hacks in the major leagues, too, and is pegged to be Minnesota's everyday center fielder at an age when most kids are wrapping up their last years at college.
That kind of pressure might be daunting for most kids, but according to Twins general manager Terry Ryan - who has known Buxton since he was an 18-year-old standout at Appling County High School - the kid he drafted second overall in 2012 isn't really a kid anymore.
"He's turning into a man right in front of our eyes," Ryan said.
For Buxton, who grew up in the 300-person town of Baxley, expectations have been crazy high since his ridiculous 2013 campaign, when he hit .334/.424/.520 with 49 extra-base hits and 55 stolen bases in 125 minor-league games. Still, even after an underwhelming first stint in Minnesota, Buxton doesn't feel any added pressure to perform.
"The pressure to me is not really pressure at all," Buxton said. "It just drives me to be even better. I go out there and play the game the right way. I respect it, and I give it my all. I wanna be that role model that hustles out ground balls. I wanna be the guy that dives for balls and takes away base hits."
Buxton, whose time in the upper levels of the minor leagues was brief and marred by injury, was "rushed" to the big leagues last year, Ryan admitted, but even as he stumbled to a .576 OPS in his first 46 MLB games, he still opened some eyes in the Twins clubhouse.
"He's got a high ceiling, that's for sure," said first baseman Joe Mauer, who was drafted first overall out of a St. Paul high school in 2001. "He can run. He can throw. He's got pop in his bat. He can do really anything you ask him to do on a baseball field. He's got a lot of potential, and I see why everybody is so excited about him."
