Eddie Butler. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)
Eddie Butler’s start Saturday for the Rockies will figure like a do-over. In hindsight, the Rockies’ rookie pitcher may have jumped to the big leagues too soon. And his experience this season may lead Colorado to rewrite its prospect sheet.
Butler, who was recalled to Colorado on Tuesday, will pitch twice for the Rockies over the 11 remaining days this season, in a kind of an early-look tryout for 2015. The rookie Butler will pitch his second and third big-league starts after a disastrous debut in June.
“At that time, I didn’t think he was ready,” said Kevin Riggs, his manager with the Tulsa Drillers. “If you had asked me that last year, I thought he was ready. But this year, some of the things they were working on hadn’t transpired yet. He’s in a much better place this second time around. I’m hopeful he’ll gain some confidence from it.”
Butler gave up six runs on 10 hits against the Dodgers in June, after he was called up to replace Christian Bergman, who was called up to replace Jordan Lyles. Soon after, Butler was put on the disabled list with a muscle strain in his right armpit.
“The most valuable lessons are learned the hard way,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “He’s had to struggle a little this year, relative to last season. There’ve been some challenges this year for Eddie. Hopefully he comes out the other side better for it.”
While the 23-year-old Butler will get two more big-league games under his belt, two other highly touted Rockies piching prospects won’t have that chance. But their paths might already be set.
Rockies prospect Jon Gray. (Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post)
Pump the breaks on Gray
Jon Gray, the Rockies’ top draft pick in 2013 (third overall), is more likely to start next season in Double-A, according to Riggs.
“I would think Jon would be back (in Double-A) early on,” said Riggs, who joined the Rockies at Coors Field this week after Tulsa’s season ended.
“In the development process with (Gray), there’s still some things he needs to learn — secondary skills and game-planning. And really just being mentally focused from the first pitch.”
Riggs reiterated the scouting report on Gray — he has A-plus stuff, top-notch velocity and movement — but said more development is necessary. Gray needs to ramp up his grit, Riggs said.
“I thought that, only once he’d get hit around a little bit, he’d get edgy on the mound. He’s got to be edgy from Pitch 1 and let not only his team feed off it but let the opponents know they’re in for a tough night.”
Gray, 22, played his first full pro season this year (going 10-5 with a 3.91 ERA in Double-A). So his timeline certainly isn’t delayed.
“He’s moved extremely quick, probably quicker than any other pitcher we’ve had in the system,” Riggs said. “He’s a little ways away still, but if he attacks some of the things off the field, as far as mentally and putting forth the work every day — like I said, he’s got to set the tone from Pitch 1 — when he embraces that and understands that, the sky’s the limit for him. Because he does have good stuff.”
In the wake of Butler’s back-and-forth, Riggs cautioned not to rush Gray.
“He needs to be here when he’s ready to be here,” Riggs said. “A lot of guys, if you rush them too quick and you get them in this environment, they get chewed up and spit out and you don’t know how they’re gonna recover. Hopefully we’ll do the right thing and when he’s ready to come, he will. And when he does, he won’t look back.”
Rockies prospect Tyler Anderson. (MiLB.com)
Anderson’s big come-up
Tyler Anderson, though, made perhaps the biggest jump up the radar among Rockies pitching prospects. The 24-year-old was a first-round pick in 2011, 20th overall.
In his third pro season, Anderson made a big jump, going 7-4 with a 1.98 ERA with Double-A Tulsa.
“Phenomenal year. Tremendous year,” Riggs said. “Obviously he was great until an early exit in the playoffs and an injury. But he held up all year and pitched as well as anybody I’ve been around. A sub-2.00 ERA at any level is tremendous. And it’s the first time with our ball club they’ve had that since Jeff Francis. That’s pretty good company.”
Anderson, named the Texas League pitcher of the year,
While the Gray-Butler combo attracted so much attention and demand early this season, Anderson (along with Daniel Winkler, who pitched well for Tulsa before undergoing Tommy John surgery) forced himself into the conversation for 2015.
Anderson, Riggs said, was ready for the big-league jump.
“If they would have asked me, if he didn’t have that injury in his last start, he was ready to come up,” Riggs said. “The pitchability, with all pitches, the velocity was back up there. He was able to throw any pitch in any count.
“His attention to detail and the gameplan and executing it was second to none,” Riggs added. “He put the time in with his homework and executed it every five nights. He was very in tune with a lot of things and was a very good teammate. He came a long way in a lot of different areas.”
If the Rockies don’t exercise a $12 million option on Brett Anderson next season, and don’t find an experienced replacement, they’ll be looking at a pitching rotation with veterans Jorge De La Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin and a slew of young 20-somethings, including Tyler Matzek, Jordan Lyles, Christian Bergman, Butler and Anderson.
Tags: Daniel Winkler, Eddie Butler, Jon Gray, Kevin Riggs, Tulsa Drillers, Tyler Anderson
