MILWAUKEE — When he’s pitching well, Eddie Butler has a heavy two-seam fastball that sinks like a stone. To confound hitters further, he’ll unleash his potent four-seam fastball up in the zone. Mix in his slider and a developing changeup, and Butler has the raw materials to be a dominant major-league pitcher.
“He can ‘outstuff’ major-league lineups, and that’s a nice luxury to have,” manager Walt Weiss said.
But Butler, just 24, is a work in progress with a lot of raw edges. That was evident during a roller-coaster spring training in which the right-hander posted a 5.29 ERA over 24 innings.
Nonetheless, he’ll start against the Brewers on Wednesday night at Miller Park. It will be just his fourth big-league start, coming after three last summer in which he struggled, going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA.
How much better prepared is he now then he was then?
“Exponentially,” he said. “I’m just (a lot) stronger — with my body and my mind.”
Butler has put on 15 pounds since last season and built up his leg strength, something he hopes will relieve the shoulder and back soreness that plagued him last summer. As for the head game of baseball, Butler said he’s taking his cue from veteran Kyle Kendrick, who threw seven shutout innings in Monday’s season opener.
“Kendrick is a like a machine out there,” Butler said. “He never gets too excited. He never gets down on himself. He just makes pitch after pitch. That’s what I need to do.”
Butler also needs to keep the ball down. When he doesn’t, he tends to get lit up like the Las Vegas strip.
“His sinker is his bread-and-butter pitch, and he’s got to be at the bottom of the zone with it,” Weiss said. “That’s the key for him. On the occasions when balls get barreled up, it’s typically when his sinker gets elevated.”
No personal catchers. Weiss said he doesn’t plan to pair up pitchers with specific catchers this season. At least not yet.
“I don’t have a plan in place of putting a pitcher with a personal catcher,” he said, noting that factors such as workload, days off and opposing pitchers will determine when Michael McKenry and Wilin Rosario play in place of starter Nick Hundley.
Footnotes. Tuesday’s rainout in Chicago forced the Cubs to alter their pitching rotation for this weekend’s three-game series against the Rockies at Coors Field. Colorado will now face lefty Travis Wood and right-handers Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks. They dodge ace left-hander Jon Lester. … As part of their new affiliation with the Rockies, the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes will be wearing purple jerseys on Sundays this season. The lettering will sport a font like the Rockies have on their jerseys. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Looking ahead
Rockies’ Eddie Butler (1-1, 6.75 ERA in 2014) vs. Brewers’ Wily Peralta (17-11, 3.53) 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, ROOT; 850 AM
Peralta has managed to hang tough against the Rockies, going 2-2 in five games (four starts), though he has a 6.46 ERA in those games. Peralta went 2-0 with a 4.61 ERA in two starts against Colorado last season. Peralta will have to pitch carefully to first baseman Justin Morneau, who has hit .545 (6-for-11) with two RBIs against the right-hander from the Dominican Republic. Butler, a 24-year-old right-hander, has only three major-league starts under his belt. He has never faced the Brewers.
Thursday: Off
Friday: Cubs’ Travis Wood (9-13 ERA, 5.03 in 2014) vs. Rockies’ Tyler Matzek (6-11, 4.05 in 2014), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Saturday: Cubs’ Jason Hammel (2-6, 4.26 in 2014) vs. Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick (1-0, 0.oo in 2015), 6:10 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks (7-2, 2.46 in 2014) vs. Rockies’ Jordan Lyles (1-0, 3.00 in 2015), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
