Eddie Butler

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Colorado Rockies #4 prospect in 2015
  After being taken 46th overall in the 2012 draft and signing for $1 million, Butler finished the 2013 season at Double-A Tulsa. He returned there in 2014, and while trying to utilize his four-seamer more, he began overthrowing, causing his arm slot to rise slightly. His sinker didn't have the depth it had a year earlier, and his slider and curveball weren't as sharp. Hence, Butler wasn't ready when he made his major league debut on June 6. The following day, he showed up with soreness behind his right shoulder and ended up on the disabled list. Butler's sinker, changeup and slider are plus pitches with terrific movement. He also has a developing four-seamer that will get up to 97 mph and an average curveball that is more of a showme pitch. Butler's sinker, his most dominant pitch, sits at 93-94 mph and has late action. So does his 87 mph changeup, which is his best secondary pitch. His 86 mph slider is sharp and tight but needs a bit more downward tilt. Butler eventually returned to Tulsa and made two late-September starts for the Rockies, but after the second he developed upper-back soreness that caused him to miss the Arizona Fall League. He has gotten stronger, which should help him maintain his delivery in 2015 at Triple-A Albuquerque. His raw stuff gives him a ceiling as a No. 2 starter.
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  Ranked Colorado Rockies #2 prospect in 2014
  The Rockies signed Butler for $1 million after taking him 46th overall in the 2012 draft as compensation for the loss of free agent Mark Ellis to the Dodgers. He began his career by leading the Rookie-level Pioneer League in ERA (2.13), WHIP (1.06) and opponent average (.230), but his encore was even more impressive. He began 2013 at low Class A Asheville but worked his way through three levels, throwing an eye-opening inning at the Futures Game, and finishing 9-5, 1.80 overall, ranking second in the minors in ERA and opponent average (.180). Butler's fastball, slider and changeup are plus pitches with exceptional movement, and his hard curveball is solid-average. He touches 99 mph with a fastball that sits at 95-96. With its life and his ability to spot it, Butler earns 70 grades or higher from scouts for his heater. His changeup is extraordinary, a finished pitch he throws at 88 mph that bottoms out like a split and is thrown with great arm speed. He used it to thoroughly vex Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts in the Futures Game. Butler's slider is 85-88 mph and features tight, late break. He shows good feel for his craft, as he can add and subtract and vary the break on his secondary stuff. In addition to a power sinker, Butler throws a four-seamer that he worked hard at Double-A Tulsa to make more consistent to his arm side. He was much improved last season at not letting his emotions affect him when encountering adversity. Butler could be in the Rockies rotation by May. He figures to begin the season with several starts in the high minors, with the weather possibly dictating a return to Double-A Tulsa. His front-of-the-rotation starter upside rivals that of Gray.
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  Ranked Colorado Rockies #6 prospect in 2013
  As compensation for the loss of Mark Ellis to the Dodgers as a free agent, the Rockies got the 46th overall pick in the 2012 draft. They used it on Butler, who signed for $1 million before leading the Pioneer League in ERA (2.13), WHIP (1.06) and opponent average (.230). He allowed just one homer in 68 innings. Butler's stuff is electric. He touched 99 mph in instructional league with his fastball after hitting 97 several times during the season. He usually pitches at 94-96 mph with his fastball, and its sinking action makes it even more effective. Butler throws two breaking balls, a solid slider and an average curveball. He overmatched Pioneer League hitters who geared up for his fastball by getting them to chase sliders off the plate. His changeup is improving but is behind his other pitches. He commands his arsenal well. It didn't happen too often during his banner debut, but he shows too much emotion when things don't go his way. Despite his velocity, Butler will need to tighten his secondary stuff to get more strikeouts against more advanced hitters. Butler proved even better than advertised, showing a ceiling of a No. 2 starter. He'll advance to low Class A for his first full pro season.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #85 prospect in 2012 draft
  Radford has had just two players drafted in the first 10 rounds in its history, and Butler figures to be the third this spring even though he doesn't stand out physically and was averaging less than a strikeout per inning in the Big South Conference. Butler, 6-foot-2 and 165 pounds, has a heavy fastball with boring action that ranges from 90-96 mph, and he has shown aptitude by adding and subtracting from it. He'll sit around 93 mph and amp it up to 95-96 against the middle of an order. He has touched 97 mph late in games. He throws a slider that could be a good pitch but currently lags behind, and his changeup needs work, which could explain why he's not striking more hitters out. Teams will likely give Butler a chance to stick as a starter, but he could move quickly in a bullpen role.

Minor League Top Prospects

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  Ranked Texas League #3 prospect in 2014
  Butler appeared to be on the fast track after a breakout 2013 campaign, but he endured a challenging 2014 season that was slowed by command problems and a shoulder injury. Butler's strikeout rate dipped from 8.6 per nine innings last season to 5.3 in 2014 while he struggled with mechanical changes in his delivery. The Rockies slowed down his tempo in hopes that it would lead to more arm speed. The opposite happened, however, and Butler tried to overcompensate by being too fine with his breaking ball and changeup. Butler dominated over the first two months, using an easy mid- to upper-90s fastball, above-average changeup, and a pair of solid breaking pitches in a curveball and slider. He throws both a two-seamer with sink that hitters struggle to pick up out of his slightly unorthodox delivery and a four-seamer that he can locate to both sides of the plate. Butler got roughed up in his lone big league start in June, missed a month with a sore shoulder and wasn't the same in his return to Tulsa in late July. "We had some success against him when he was up with his pitches," one league manager said. "Down in the zone was a different animal."
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  Ranked California League #2 prospect in 2013
  Butler left the Cal League in his wake after just 13 starts, proving too advanced for high Class A hitters to handle. At his best, Butler features four major league pitches, none of which are straight, and he throws them without much effort. His best offering is an electric fastball that explodes out of his hand with running action. He throws with plus velocity consistently, sitting at 94-95 mph and topping out at 99. Butler?s slider rates best among his secondary pitches, a true knockout that operates at 87-88 mph. He didn?t need his high-80s sinking changeup much in the Cal League, but he shows feel for it when he has to. He can mix in a tight curveball for strikes as well, and both the curve and change are good enough for him to get outs with. Butler does all of this with a good delivery and clean, loose arm action. He pounds the strike zone, walking 2.8 per nine innings in the Cal League and 2.7 for his pro career. He profiles as a potential No. 2 starter.
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  Ranked South Atlantic League #1 prospect in 2013
  Pitching in Asheville with its high altitude and tiny dimensions?McCormick Field is 297 feet to right field and 373 to center?is never easy, but Butler made it look simple. In nine starts before he was promoted to high Class A Modesto, Butler gave up one hit four different times. He didn?t give up a run in more than half his starts. He did it by dominating hitters with a plus-plus fastball (94-97 mph), good fastball life, a potentially plus breaking ball and an average changeup. He finished the season in Double-A and ranked second in the minors overall in ERA (1.80). ?Maybe the best guy we saw all year was Butler,? Hickory manager Corey Ragsdale said. ?He was 97 (mph) with a hard, sharp slider. It was impressive to watch. He wasn?t the most imposing kid, (but) all of a sudden you saw what came out of his hand and you knew it would be a long day.?
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  Ranked Pioneer League #6 prospect in 2012
  Like Winker, Butler is a 2012 supplemental first-rounder who signed for $1 million. He's not physically imposing, but he has a pair of plus pitches that helped him lead the league in ERA (2.13), opponent average (.230) and WHIP (1.06). Butler's fastball averages 94-95 mph with heavy sink, getting as high as 97, and he backs it up with a quality slider. His below-average changeup holds the key to his future, and how well he defines it will determine if he's a starter or reliever. He has average command and a competitive makeup.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #77 prospect in 2015
• Ranked Baseball America's #24 prospect in 2014

• December, 2012 Scouting Report
  Background: Butler became just the third player to head to Radford after being drafted out of high school, as the lanky righthander was picked in the 35th round of the 2009 draft by the Rangers, from the same high school that produced B.J. Upton. As compensation for the loss of Mark Ellis to the Dodgers as a free agent, the Rockies got the 46th overall pick in the 2012 draft. They used it on Butler, who signed for $1 million before leading the Pioneer League in ERA (2.13), WHIP (1.06) and opponent average (.230). He allowed just one homer in 68 innings. Scouting Report: Butler's stuff is electric. He touched 99 mph in instructional league with his fastball after hitting 97 several times during the season. He usually pitches at 94-96 mph with his fastball, and its sinking action makes it even more effective. Butler throws two breaking balls, a solid slider and an average curveball. He overmatched Pioneer League hitters who geared up for his fastball by getting them to chase sliders off the plate. His changeup is improving but is behind his other pitches. He commands his arsenal well. It didn't happen to often during his banner debut, he shows too much emotion when things don't go his way. The Future: Butler proved even better than advertised, showing a ceiling of a No. 2 starter. He'll advance to low Class A for his first full pro season.