3 years agoByron Buxton got off to a scorching hot start last season, slashing an elite .370/.408/.772 with 10 doubles, nine home runs, 17 RBI, and five stolen bases across 92 at-bats (24 games). He then suffered a Grade 2 hip strain that sidelined him for a month and a half. He appeared in just three games following his activation before being hit by a pitch and fracturing his hand on June 22. He would go on to miss two more months before finishing the final 34 games of the season in good health, ending with a final batting line of .306/.358/.647 to go along with 19 homers, 32 RBI, nine stolen bases, and 50 runs scored over 61 games. The sample size was small but he registered an elite 53.8% Hard Hit Rate, 17.9% Barrel Rate, Max EV of 115.6 mph, and 99th percentile Sprint Speed. He does have some flaws in his game, though, as he put up a 24.4% Strikeout Rate and low 5.1% Walk Rate. He's also never put up an xBA higher than .247 in his career apart from last season (.300 xBA). The speedy outfielder has averaged just 75 games a season, excluding the shortened-2020 campaign, since entering the league and has notched 300 at-bats just once over that span (2017). Even with his injury history, Buxton currently has an NFC ADP of 61, making him a fifth-round pick in standard 12-team leagues. Fantasy managers clearly still believe in his potential. He's a legitimate four-category contributor when healthy and that makes him roster-worthy if you can stomach the injury risk. Be sure to draft some durable batting average balancers in order to mitigate Buxton's downside.--Jon Mathisen - RotoBaller