Twins promote Lookouts center fielder Byron Buxton

Chattanooga Lookouts center fielder Byron Buxton, pictured, will be joined by teammates Miguel Sano, a left fielder, and Adam Walker, a third baseman, in the Southern League All-Star Game on June 23 in Montgomery, Ala. Staff Photo by Angela Lewis Foster/The Chattanooga Times Free Press
Chattanooga Lookouts center fielder Byron Buxton, pictured, will be joined by teammates Miguel Sano, a left fielder, and Adam Walker, a third baseman, in the Southern League All-Star Game on June 23 in Montgomery, Ala. Staff Photo by Angela Lewis Foster/The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Byron Buxton's first big surge at the plate this season made him the Southern League hitter of the week.

His second one resulted in a promotion to the Minnesota Twins.

The top-rated prospect in minor league baseball will join the Twins today when they continue their series against the Texas Rangers in the Dallas suburb of Arlington. Buxton was not in the lineup for the Chattanooga Lookouts as they continued their Southern League series Saturday night in Birmingham.

Minnesota will announce the move today, but Lookouts officials were informed of Buxton's impending departure Saturday afternoon.

Buxton went 2-for-4 in Friday night's win over Birmingham and was 2-for-3 with a triple in Thursday night's loss to the Barons. The triple was his 12th this season, which leads all of minor league baseball.

Friday's performance extended Buxton's hitting streak to 10 games and improved his season average to .283. He has seven doubles, six home runs and 37 RBIs in 59 games with the Lookouts, and he was named this past week to the Southern League all-star game.

The 21-year-old from Baxley, Ga., played just 31 games in a frustrating 2014 season that included two wrist injuries and a concussion. He had a slow start this spring but went 8-for-15 (.533) with three triples and two doubles during the first three days of May.

Buxton was rewarded then with the league's weekly hitting honor, and Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz was hoping at that time to have him for more than just the next month.

"I would like to see him here the whole year, and that has nothing to do with me as a manager," Mientkiewicz said. "I want to see him have success, and too many times in baseball and in general today, these kids have a good two weeks and they move them. They are going to play a long time, so let them build that huge snowball of confidence to where nothing can deter them once they struggle again.

"His time is coming, and it's going to be sooner than later for sure."

Buxton, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft, has an immediate opportunity with the Twins due to center fielder Aaron Hicks having a nagging elbow injury and with right fielder Torii Hunter suspended for today's game.

The Twins were among the major leagues' best teams in May but have struggled this month, dropping their fifth straight game Saturday to fall to 33-28.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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