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Twins center fielder Byron Buxton homered again on Wednesday night during a 6-5 win over the Royals and he's starting to show signs of really picking up on MLB pitching. Such movement heading into next spring would do wonders for the psyche of the Twins' organization, given the overall abysmal showing at the big-league level in 2016.

Prior to Buxton returning to the Twins on Sept. 1 when rosters expanded, he carried a career slash line in the majors of .199/.244/.319. He had three career home runs, but he had struck out 144 times compared to just 19 walks. Basically, he couldn't have possibly looked more overmatched at the plate.

Sure, we saw glimpses. He provided us with spectacular plays in center -- namely those that show off his range -- and his speed on the bases was evident during his five triples. It's just that he was hitting like a pitcher, which renders his speed mostly useless on offense. To wit, despite being one of the fastest players in the league, he had just 11 stolen bases in 356 plate appearances.

Since Buxton's return, though, he's been hitting like he's starting to "get it." He's 12 for 26 (.462) and going nuts with the power.

It started in his first game back with a three-run shot:

Two days later, a two-run job:

Oh, hey, how about a grand slam the next day?

It even draws the big smile from his skipper, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor.

As noted, Buxton homered again on Wednesday. He also doubled. So he has four doubles, four homers and 10 RBI in seven games since coming back. Better yet, Buxton homered in his last four Triple-A games before being recalled. He's as locked in as he's ever been.

He's still doing it with the glove ...

... and his legs, as he scored from second on a routine groundout against the Royals on Wednesday (MLB.com video here).

It's just that we knew the defense and baserunning were already where they needed to be. It's the average and the power that are most encouraging.

Could this simply be a hot streak that will subside before he reverts back to struggling in a major way? Sure. He has struck out seven times in these seven games, after all. Seven games is obviously a very small sample, too. Let's just keep in mind that sometimes it takes players a few years to adjust to the majors and that Buxton is only 22.

Though they are incredibly fun to watch and great overall for baseball, players like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado being so good at such a young age has the frustrating byproduct of some believing a young player will never get it after just a quick foray into the majors.

Here's some perspective on that: Kris Bryant was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2015 and has a good shot to win the MVP this season. He made his major-league debut at age 23. Again, Buxton is only 22 right now.

Do we really want to give up on Buxton -- or even downgrade his chances of becoming a star -- when looking through that lens? Of course not. Sometimes it takes even longer. Alex Gordon didn't break out until he was 27. There are late bloomers.

With Buxton's recent tear, however, he provides hope it won't take him too much longer. Perhaps he's ready to make the next big leap in 2017. He has the talent, and that's been on display this past week.