Top picks Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton join forces in Minnesota
By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer
FORT MYERS, Fla. — When the baseball world woke up to the news Saturday that Carlos Correa had agreed to a deal with the Minnesota Twins, it was difficult to react in any way other than pure shock.
It was one of the most surprising free-agent destinations in recent memory, and it would take a while for fans to process the fact that it was even real, let alone any of the ramifications of the deal.
With the deal becoming official and Correa introduced Wednesday in Fort Myers, Florida, we can all finally start to wrap our minds around how this move will impact the league as a whole. Undoubtedly, one of the most exciting elements of Correa joining the Twins is the idea that he could play on the same team as the guy drafted right after him atop the 2012 MLB Draft, Byron Buxton.
It didn’t take long for people to start pointing out this fun fact, including Buxton himself:
Buxton was not wrong to assume that this is a rather rare occurrence, but this actually isn’t the first time that first and second overall picks have been teammates in the big leagues. The Brewers selected BJ Surhoff with the first pick in the 1985 draft; the Giants selected sweet-swinging Will Clark with the second pick. Fourteen years later, the two suited up for the 1999 and 2000 Baltimore Orioles.
Right-handed pitcher Paul Wilson was the first overall pick by the Mets in the 1994 draft, and he later played with Oakland’s No. 2 pick, Ben Grieve, for the 2001 and '02 Devil Rays. That makes Correa and Buxton the third 1-2 duo to play together since the MLB Draft began in 1965. And this is the first case in which one of the original drafting teams is still involved, with Buxton having never left Minnesota.
The connection goes deeper than just being picked back-to-back, though. Both Correa and Buxton were among the best high school players in the 2012 draft. But Buxton was viewed in a tier of his own at the top of the class. His spectacular displays of speed and athleticism at Appling County High School in Georgia in the summer before his senior year and into the spring were almost the stuff of legend.
Meanwhile, Correa’s stock as a well-built shortstop out of Puerto Rico rose more gradually over the course of his senior year, and he was viewed more as a back-half-of-the-top-10-type talent than as a bona fide first overall selection.
Both were at the annual East Coast Pro showcase the summer before their senior years, and the ECP is where Buxton really put himself on the map. That same summer, Correa participated in the Perfect Game All-American Game in San Diego, and Buxton starred at the Under Armour All-American Game in Chicago.
It wasn’t until late in the spring of Correa’s senior year that the idea of him going at the very top of the draft started to become more plausible. His run of pre-draft workouts with interested teams took on a mythical aura similar to the tales of Buxton’s high school exploits, and Correa’s stock peaked at the right time.
Yet even with his late rise up draft boards, the Astros surprised many in the industry when they ultimately selected the shortstop first overall. It's not that Correa wasn’t well-regarded, but Buxton’s talent just seemed too good to pass up.
Correa, though, came with a lower signing bonus demand than Buxton, which allowed the Astros to save enough money in their bonus pool to sign another highly touted prep talent named Lance McCullers Jr. at pick No. 41. Minnesota grabbed Buxton with the second pick and gave him a $6 million signing bonus, a healthy bit more than the $4.8 million Correa received from Houston.
At his introductory news conference Wednesday, Correa acknowledged his long-standing association with Buxton:
"We actually played a lot in high school, doing all the showcases, pre-draft workouts … then in the minor leagues, I faced him when he was with Cedar Rapids and I was with Quad Cities. We were together in the All-Star Game that year. Throughout the minor leagues, we were playing against each other, and eventually we made it. It’s been good to see him having the success he’s been having."
Indeed, the two young studs climbed the minor-league ladder at an awfully similar pace. They both represented their organizations at the 2013 Futures Game, and they made their MLB debuts within weeks of each other in June 2015.
Since debuting seven years ago, Correa has become one of the faces — and for some fans, villains — of the sport, appearing in October after October and racking up postseason dingers, including this one against Minnesota in 2020, at a stunning pace.
Buxton has shown flashes of brilliance, but he took a few years to develop offensively and has appeared in a measly three playoff games, winning none of them. Both have also struggled mightily with injuries, with Correa missing significant time in 2017, ‘18 and ’19 and Buxton managing to play 100-plus games only once in his career (2017).
A common thread has remained, however: When they are on the field, they are each capable of being a top-10 player in MLB. Both have shown exactly why hundreds of evaluators across the game were so sky-high on them as amateurs. If they can manage to stay on the field at the same time as teammates, we could witness something truly special.
"I get to play with such a dynamic player and such a great leader," Correa said. "It makes my job easier when you have a guy like Byron on your team."
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He lives in D.C. but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.