Minnesota Twins Arizona Fall League Update 3.0

Let's just get the bad news out of the way, and I really hope this doesn't stop you from reading the rest: Byron Buxton is missing the rest of the Arizona Fall League due to injury. Three days ago he dislocated and fractured his left middle finger while attempting a diving catch in the ninth inning of Monday's Rafters' game.

Buxton had been named to Saturday's Fall Stars Game, in spite of hitting just .263/.311/.298. The injury isn't a serious one, but as a precaution it's just better that he waits to get going again until spring training. Time in the Arizona Fall League was being used to knock some of the rust off after a mostly lost 2014, so this injury isn't going to push Buxton's timetable back any further, but it's the cherry on top of what has been a miserable year for Buxton's luck and the health of his upper extremities as a whole.

Here's how everyone looks through yesterday.

Pitchers

Position Players

The Rafters continue to be the league's best team, posting a 13-4-3 record. The pitching side has been led by Mark Appel and Jayson Aquino on the starter's side, with Jake Reed, Kaleb Fleck, Tyson Perez, Enrique Burgos, and Reid Redman mopping things up on the back end. Offensively, Eddie Rosario is joined by Trevor Story, Andrew Aplin, and Austin Nola as the guys who have helped to lead the charge.

Adam - Hasn't been scored upon in his last two appearances, which is good, but he continues to allow base runners. It would be good to see him put together a few outings of clean appearances - just no base runners at all.

Jones - It's been an off week for Jones, who in three appearances since our last update hasn't struck anyone out. The first was a single-inning affair where he allowed a hit, but there were no other events of note. The second outing saw Jones get just one out as he walked the bases loaded. Luckily he was bailed out of that disaster, which has enabled him to hold onto his pristine ERA. In his third outing, which was the same game in which Buxton went down, Jones surrendered a pair of hits and a walk...but still managed to escape the nightmare unscathed. Here's hoping for a stronger finish.

Reed - While the mad strikeout rate has tapered, he's continued to put in strong outings. He's gone four appearances without handing out a walk, and has yet to be scored upon in a body of work that has, so far, been stronger than Jones' in spite of the same ERA. He's now the lone Twins prospect on the Fall Stars Game roster.

Rogers - Still hasn't pitched since October 9.

Buxton - See above. Ugh.

Kepler - Kepler has been on a bit of a hot streak, going 9-for-26 (.346) over his six-game hitting streak. This is far closer to the performance we were all hoping he would have. His prospect status could be given a boost by finishing the AFL strong.

Rosario - Also on a six-game hitting streak, wherein he's gone 9-for-23 (.391). What's funny is that has actually brought his average down. He continues to rake, continues to get out there and try to steal bases, and in general looks like he's just being aggressive and having a good time while he's at it. It's great to see.