With Buxton, Kepler and Rosario, future is bright for Twins OF

FORT MYERS, FLA. >> W hen Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario started in the Minnesota Twins organization, they were spindly teenagers with plenty of potential.

They’ve been through their growing pains since then. Now the Twins hope their young outfielders have grown enough to shoulder the load of a rebuilding team.

“There’s no pressure,” Kepler said. “We’ve been told to just go out and play with no worries, to not be so tedious and just have fun out there.”

The 25-and-under trio will occupy the outfield for Minnesota on opening day. If the projections proceed as planned, that will be the case for may seasons to come. With their speed and agility, Buxton, Kepler and Rosario also have the building blocks to give the Twins one of the top outfield defenses in baseball.

Last year, Twins pitchers were last in the American League in ERA (5.08) by more than a half-run, opponent’s batting average (.283) by 14 points and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.806) by 32 points.

“Defensively, I don’t think we have a ceiling,” Kepler said. “Bux is unbelievable out there. Rosie has a great arm. The sky’s the limit with this group.”

Their abilities at the plate will be just as significant of a factor in a franchise turnaround following a club-record 103 losses in 2016.

Buxton, the best defender of the bunch with a penchant for spectacular catches in center field, began last September to show the offensive potential that made him the second overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft out of Appling County High School in Georgia. In his final 44 games, Buxton had nine home runs and 26 RBIs in 167 plate appearances. Over parts of two major league seasons, Buxton has a .220 batting average with 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases.

“I think I tried to do a lot of things that I may not have been capable of doing, which might have kept me from being myself,” said Buxton, who turned 23 in December. “I was trying to be somebody else. The pressure definitely played a factor in how things went for me. Now I’ve pretty much let that go. Go out and just be who I am.”

Buxton has battled myriad injuries in his brief career, mostly stemming from what he called “an intense competitiveness” that triggers maximum effort every time he takes the field. With health and confidence restored entering the 2017 season, Buxton has been tried by manager Paul Molitor everywhere from the leadoff spot to third to fifth in an attempt to maximize his potential — and the team’s — at the plate.

Entering Wednesday, Buxton was batting .235 in spring training play with one home run and a teamhigh six doubles.