Byron Buxton has already come off the bench in four Grapefruit League games, but the Minnesota Twins gave him his first spring start on Tuesday.

Buxton, MLB.com's top prospect, hit first against the Miami Marlins.

"I've been playing him in the last parts of games, and today I just started him, because I do want to look at him, and I know there's a clock ticking here, so I want to see him swing," Ron Gardenhire said.

"I want to see him get multiple at-bats like a lot of these other kids, so we're going to start doing that before that roster game comes into play."

Buxton is coming off a season in which he hit .344/.424/.520 with 12 home runs, 77 RBIs and 55 stolen bases between two Class A affiliates.