Eddie Butler is the Jon Gray before Jon Gray.
The Colorado Rockies right-hander shot through the minor league system on his way to the big leagues. He made one quick stop to play in the Futures Game in 2012, a game that is reserved for players who are likely going to be impact players in the big leagues. His mid-90’s riding fastball was reason for depraved Rockies fans to be excited about a strong pitching prospect.
Butler made his debut in June of 2014. He struggled. He then hit the disabled list, came back, was sent down to Triple-A, struggled down there, then came back to the big leagues. The struggles have been really bad in his last few starts out. On August 3rd, Butler gave up seven runs in four innings against the Mariners. The time before that against the Cubs Butler was pedestrian, giving up three runs over five innings. Against the Reds in a win, he gave up three runs in six innings, recording a quality start, but nothing about it was dominant.
The situation with Butler is odd. The talent is clearly there. He has a live arm and some really devastating off-speed pitches to go along with a riding fastball that breaks bats of left-handers and jams right-handers. When he allows himself to go out and pitch, he can get outs.
However, Butler seems to be afraid of contact. The further he gets into a game, the more he starts nibbling at the strike zone. Instead of believing that he can get a guy out with his best stuff, he starts to try and paint the edges of the plate. He gets really fine and gets himself into bad counts. Even when he is ahead in the count, he will often times go to a pitch that leaves fans watching scratching their heads. He will try and paint the corners with his fastball, then get into a bad count and throw his slider that floats over the heart of the plate.
Butler’s lines have been extremely pedestrian, but it isn’t because he is simply out there getting shelled. It usually comes down to a couple of bad pitches that prove to be costly.
The problem is, Butler is heading down a road that is all-too-familiar for Rockies fans. It is the road of an extremely talented pitcher that never reaches his talent because his head gets in front of his talent. The problem with it is that mechanics can be fixed. If a pitcher isn’t finishing pitches, or if his arm is dragging behind, some time in the bullpen and hard work can remedy the problem. Confidence, however, is something that Butler is going to have to find on his own. There is nothing that any coach can tell him that will make him believe that his stuff is good enough to get outs until he simply figures it out on his own.
The bigger problem for the Rockies is that they are in such desperate need of strong starting pitchers that they cannot afford for Butler to not pan out. This Rockies team is so devoid of solid starting pitching that the 2016 season could essentially be the same story as 2015, where it Jorge De La Rosa, then four guys trying to find their way.
Of course, Jon Gray will be a part of the Rockies rotation in 2016, but there is no reason to believe that he will be the ace that the Rockies are eventually expecting him to be. He will need time to figure things out before he becomes dominant.
The Rockies have to hope that 2015 is that growth year for Butler and that the game starts to slow down for him in 2016.
The truth is simple. The Rockies need as much pitching talent as they can get. Eddie Butler possesses that exact talent, but if he can’t trust his stuff and have a solid game plan when he takes the mound, the Rockies won’t be in a better position than they are right now.
