Miracle's Buxton makes long-awaited return

Baseball's top prospect Byron Buxton of the Twins made his much-anticipated return to the field Sunday after a wrist sprain kept him out of action for nearly two months.

Buxton went 0-for-2 at the plate, although he made contact in both at-bats, and made a sparkling catch in center field as Class A Advanced Fort Myers downed Charlotte, 10-5.

"He's ready to go," Twins general manager Terry Ryan told MLB.com. "I envision him going out and taking the post with the Miracle, and then we'll see what happens. Hopefully, he's productive and does a nice job and then we can get him to the next level."

Buxton sprained his left wrist diving for a ball in mid-March during a Minor League Spring Training game. The 20-year-old made his season debut for Fort Myers on May 4, but batted just .150 (3-for-20) in five games. On May 8, Buxton reinjured his wrist on a slide and was sidelined until Sunday.

Buxton flew out to left field in his first trip to the plate and grounded out to lead off the third. But he made his presence felt with a lunging catch at the warning track in the third with two Stone Crabs aboard.

The outfielder and 2012 second overall Draft pick rocketed to the top of MLB.com's prospect list on the heels of a brilliant campaign a year ago. Buxton batted .334/.424/.520 with 12 home runs, 77 RBIs and 109 runs scored in 125 games last year split between Class A Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers.