By: Joseph Stuckey

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Former Appling County Pirate Byron Buxton has really been making a splash with the Minnesota Twins in recent years.

This season, as of 6/23, he has a .275 batting average and is 3rd in home runs with 25. He is making a strong case to represent the Twins and the American League in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia on July 14th.

The Baxley native was drafted by the Twins as the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft and made his MLB debut for them on June 14th, 2015.

He has played his entire career for Minnesota and has established himself as one of the best players in baseball. He is arguably a top-5 outfielder who not only has a .300+ on-base percentage but should also eclipse the 200 home run mark before the end of the 2026 season.

Many locals consider him one of the top players ever to come out of South Georgia, alongside players like Buster Posey and Adam Wainwright.

He has also won a Gold Glove Award (2017) and a Silver Slugger Award (2025). If he were to make the All-Star Game this July in Philadelphia, it would be his 3rd appearance (2022 and 2025).

Buxton truly has become the face of the franchise for the Minnesota Twins; however, there are a lot of news articles and speculation that he could be headed back home to Georgia shortly.

Buxton is 32 years old, and it is highly unlikely the Minnesota Twins will make a World Series run anytime soon, so if Buxton has his eyes set on the World Series trophy, it may have to happen in another uniform.

Even though the Twins could go on a spending spree to build around Buxton, that is also highly unlikely. The big key to this is for Buxton to waive his no-trade clause; many baseball insiders have speculated for years that the team he may be willing to do this for is in his home state of Georgia.

The Atlanta Braves are considered to be a title contender this year and would love to upgrade their outfield before the postseason push. Even though the Braves should get injury-prone superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. back shortly, Buxton would make a fine addition to the Braves’ star-studded lineup.

The Braves have built a comfortable lead on the Phillies in the NL East and have the second-best record in baseball, only trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In most people’s minds, things would have to go really badly for the Braves to lose the National League East division title, let alone miss the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have a sub-.500 record and can only hope to squeak into the playoffs with a Wild-Card berth at this point.

So, as I mentioned above, if the Baxley native has his eyes set on the World Series trophy, he may not want to look too far from home.