Byron Buxton Is on Pace to Break the Twins' Single-Season HR Record

Buxton's 23 homers rank second in the majors entering play Tuesday. He's on pace to hit 50.

Jun 15, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) comes off the field after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers during the game at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

If Byron Buxton keeps up his current pace, he's going to break the Minnesota Twins' single-season home run record.

Buxton has played in 62 of the Twins' 74 games so far this season. He has 278 plate appearances, 254 at-bats, 48 runs, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 23 home runs, 36 RBI, 6 stolen bases, 20 walks, and 74 strikeouts.

When prorating his numbers to a 162-game season, you'll find that he's on pace to play in roughly 136 games and finish with 50 homers, 28 doubles, 2 triples, and 79 RBI. The RBI numbers might actually be higher than 79 since the math doesn't factor in him moving out of the leadoff spot and into the two-hole in the batting order, where he should have more opportunities to bat with runners on base.

Either way, a 50-homer season would break Harmon Killebrew's franchise record of 49 homers in 1964 and 1969. Killebrew owns the top six single-season homer totals in Twins history. He hit 48 in 1962; 46 in 1961; 45 in 1963; and 44 in 1967.

The only other Twins to reach 40 homers in a season are Brian Dozier (42 in 2016) and Nelson Cruz (41 in 2019).

If Buxton can accelerate his RBI production, he could join a very small group in Twins history with at least 30 homers and 100-plus RBI in a single season. Only six players in Twins history have accomplished the feat:

• Nelson Cruz: 41 homers, 108 RBI in 2019
• Eddie Rosario: 32 homers, 109 RBI in 2019
• Josh Willingham: 35 homers, 110 RBI in 2012
• Justin Morneau: 30 homers, 100 RBI in 2009
• Justin Morneau: 30 homers, 111 RBI in 2007
• Justin Morneau: 34 homers, 130 RBI in 2006
• Gary Gaetti: 31 homers, 109 RBI in 1987
• Gary Gaetti: 34 homers, 108 RBI in 1986
• Harmon Killebrew did it 7 times

If Buxton played at this season's clip over the course of 162 games, he'd finish with 60 homers and 94 RBI. Again, the RBI numbers are depressed because he's done so much damage with nobody on base, but that could and should accelerate now that he's batting second instead of leadoff.

No matter how you slice it, Buxton has been amazing. He's just one homer behind Kyle Schwarber and Yordan Alvarez for the MLB lead, and his .941 OPS ranks eighth in all of baseball.