Prospects Get the Call: Eddie Butler

Jul 14, 2013; Flushing , NY, USA; USA pitcher Eddie Butler throws a pitch during the 2013 All Star Futures Game at Citi Field. USA defeated World 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Eddie Butler was the 46th overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, selected after pitchers to have already made their debut like Michael Wacha, Marcus Stroman, and Kevin Gausman, but Butler will get to toe a big league rubber on Friday.

Eddie Butler is widely considered to be the Colorado Rockies second best prospect, behind former Tulsa Drillers teammate Jon Gray, and he was a consensus top-50 prospect in all of baseball coming into the season. Butler’s debut will not be for the faint of heart, as the Rockies will face off against the team with the highest payroll in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in arguably the worst pitcher’s park in baseball, Coors Field.

In the Texas League this season, Butler ranked third in ERA and seventh in WHIP, but will skip over Triple-A and make the jump straight to the big leagues, a move the Rockies are not afraid to do given their Triple-A park is also at a high altitude.

Butler can touch 99 MPH, but sits in the mid-to-upper 90s on a fastball that has real arm-side run. He also has a slider that could almost be classified as two separate pitches, a cutter and a slider, given the depth of the break varies based on the speed at which he throws it. His change is still a bit of a work in progress, it is currently a tick above-average but could be a true plus pitch in time.

Time will tell whether or not Butler will be able to succeed in the high altitude of Denver, Colorado, but if there is a duo that can finally give the Rockies a true power duo at the top of the rotation, Butler and Gray just might be the pair to do it.