With the fourteenth pick in the 2004 draft, the Kansas City Royals passed on Stephen Drew and nabbed high school slugger, Billy Butler, a thirdbaseman at the time. Coming out of Florida, Butler was pretty advanced for a prep hitter, but Baseball America ranked him as the 61st prospect in the draft, and 7th out of Florida. Still for signability reasons and financial reasons the Royals nabbed Butler. At the time he ha draw plus loft power with quick hands and a good approach. Despite the low ranking, his power was rated the best out of the high school ranks. Butler signed quickly and was sent out to Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League.
He hasn't stopped hitting since. In 260 AB, he tallied 22 doubles, 10 homers and 3 triples. He also displayed and excellent ability to work the count, amassing 57 walks in just over 300 PAs. He only struck out 63 times, and all of this in a league that included a lot of advanced college hitters and pitchers. Idaho isn't the lowest level of the Royals farm system. Over all his line was a very impressive .373/.488/.596 line as an 18 year old. BA ranked him the fourth best prospect in the league, and noted that he had an unorthodox swing, but had a knack for loft power and making solid contact consistently. Of course the big concern and reason he was not higher is that he was a terrible defensive thirdbasemen and was thought to have to move to first eventually. They also said he had maturity issues as well. BA also ended up ranking him the number one prospect in the Royals' farm system. Once again they said that he was very patient with quick hands, linedrive loft power (which is scary). His biggest flaws were his erratic arm and overall defensive mobility. His arm is a plus defensive arm, but his throws weren't accurate. He was also ranked the #75 prospect in all of baseball - not bad for being the 61st best draft prospect 3 months earlier.
The Royals loved Butler so much, they thought he was good enough to skip Low A and the Midwest League. They sent the newly turned 19 year old to High Desert of the High A California League. He put up sick numbers, but you have to remember that High Desert is an extreme offensive environment. Regardless Butler's normalized stats still put him near to the top of the league. Overall he hit .348/.419/.363 with 25 home runs and 42 walks with 80 Ks in 92 games. He also drilled 30 doubles. He got an early promotion to AA Wichita an hit 5 HRs in 112 AB hitting .313/.353/.527 overall. Not bad for a teenager. However, he did move out to left field, and who knows if he can stick there. He was ranked the fifth best prospect in the league with a plus bat that's complete. Again the only concerns were with his defene and where he would end up. A scout compared him to Mike Sweeney, but said he could end up better. Nice compliment, eh? Due to 2005 first rounder Alex Gordon, Butler dropped to the number two prospect in the Royals' system. Once again they said his bat was great but even his defense in left needed a lot of work. Still, BA ranked him the 29th best prospect in the league, you can't ignore his bat. Butler also went to the 2005 AFL. He hit the ball well in his 103 AB, knocking 5 homers, but had the same issues on the defensive side of the game.
In 2006 the 20 year old was sent back to Double A Wichita for the full season. He seemed to face his first adversity as a prospect. By adversity I meant he did not post a .500 slugging percentage, nor a .900 OPS. Then again, he was a 20 year old who spent all season in Double A. Oh yeah, his statline? .331/.388/.499. The only thing missing was a bit of power, but it should not be any concern since he hit 33 doubles, 15 homers and managed to keep his walk rate in check while lowering his strikeout rate (41:67). Butler is going to be near the top of the Southern League in the prospect rankings due out in a couple weeks, but he was not even the best prospect on his own team. He's going to be in the top 10 prospects in all of baseball when those annual lists come out as well.
Butler's skills and tools offensively are great. He does not have the classic look as a hitter. He uses an open stance, keeps his hands high and uses and unorthodox toe spin/tap. The result? A quick compact linedrive machine of a swing with tremendous loft power. It might not look pretty, but it works to perfection. This year he killed lefties hitting well over .400 against them, but still hit over .300 against righties with a good strikeout rate. His K rate against lefties was almost non existent. Unlike High Desert, Wichita is an extreme pitcher's park for the league. His line ended up being a .296 EqA, and well he did a lot of his hitting away from Wichita. He hit .357/.413/.576 with 14 of his 15 homers on the road. The reduction in home runs is certainly is not a concern. He also striggled at the beginning of the season and was back to hitting around .350 in the second half of the season.
Next year Butler will probably be in Omaha at age 21, but he's probably the second-best hitter overall in the entire organization - second to only Alex Gordon. Sorry Mark Teahan fans, not buying his crap. The best comparison for Butler is probably Travis Hafner. There are some differences here. Both guys are all-around hitters who can hit for power, average and draw walks while not killing themselves with strikeouts. Both guys are barrel-chested with an utter lack of defense. The biggest difference was that Hafner was a late-bloomer and Butler has been fast-tracked to the majors. Of course Butler is a righty and Hafner is a lefty, but that's just a small detail.
He hasn't stopped hitting since. In 260 AB, he tallied 22 doubles, 10 homers and 3 triples. He also displayed and excellent ability to work the count, amassing 57 walks in just over 300 PAs. He only struck out 63 times, and all of this in a league that included a lot of advanced college hitters and pitchers. Idaho isn't the lowest level of the Royals farm system. Over all his line was a very impressive .373/.488/.596 line as an 18 year old. BA ranked him the fourth best prospect in the league, and noted that he had an unorthodox swing, but had a knack for loft power and making solid contact consistently. Of course the big concern and reason he was not higher is that he was a terrible defensive thirdbasemen and was thought to have to move to first eventually. They also said he had maturity issues as well. BA also ended up ranking him the number one prospect in the Royals' farm system. Once again they said that he was very patient with quick hands, linedrive loft power (which is scary). His biggest flaws were his erratic arm and overall defensive mobility. His arm is a plus defensive arm, but his throws weren't accurate. He was also ranked the #75 prospect in all of baseball - not bad for being the 61st best draft prospect 3 months earlier.
The Royals loved Butler so much, they thought he was good enough to skip Low A and the Midwest League. They sent the newly turned 19 year old to High Desert of the High A California League. He put up sick numbers, but you have to remember that High Desert is an extreme offensive environment. Regardless Butler's normalized stats still put him near to the top of the league. Overall he hit .348/.419/.363 with 25 home runs and 42 walks with 80 Ks in 92 games. He also drilled 30 doubles. He got an early promotion to AA Wichita an hit 5 HRs in 112 AB hitting .313/.353/.527 overall. Not bad for a teenager. However, he did move out to left field, and who knows if he can stick there. He was ranked the fifth best prospect in the league with a plus bat that's complete. Again the only concerns were with his defene and where he would end up. A scout compared him to Mike Sweeney, but said he could end up better. Nice compliment, eh? Due to 2005 first rounder Alex Gordon, Butler dropped to the number two prospect in the Royals' system. Once again they said his bat was great but even his defense in left needed a lot of work. Still, BA ranked him the 29th best prospect in the league, you can't ignore his bat. Butler also went to the 2005 AFL. He hit the ball well in his 103 AB, knocking 5 homers, but had the same issues on the defensive side of the game.
In 2006 the 20 year old was sent back to Double A Wichita for the full season. He seemed to face his first adversity as a prospect. By adversity I meant he did not post a .500 slugging percentage, nor a .900 OPS. Then again, he was a 20 year old who spent all season in Double A. Oh yeah, his statline? .331/.388/.499. The only thing missing was a bit of power, but it should not be any concern since he hit 33 doubles, 15 homers and managed to keep his walk rate in check while lowering his strikeout rate (41:67). Butler is going to be near the top of the Southern League in the prospect rankings due out in a couple weeks, but he was not even the best prospect on his own team. He's going to be in the top 10 prospects in all of baseball when those annual lists come out as well.
Butler's skills and tools offensively are great. He does not have the classic look as a hitter. He uses an open stance, keeps his hands high and uses and unorthodox toe spin/tap. The result? A quick compact linedrive machine of a swing with tremendous loft power. It might not look pretty, but it works to perfection. This year he killed lefties hitting well over .400 against them, but still hit over .300 against righties with a good strikeout rate. His K rate against lefties was almost non existent. Unlike High Desert, Wichita is an extreme pitcher's park for the league. His line ended up being a .296 EqA, and well he did a lot of his hitting away from Wichita. He hit .357/.413/.576 with 14 of his 15 homers on the road. The reduction in home runs is certainly is not a concern. He also striggled at the beginning of the season and was back to hitting around .350 in the second half of the season.
Next year Butler will probably be in Omaha at age 21, but he's probably the second-best hitter overall in the entire organization - second to only Alex Gordon. Sorry Mark Teahan fans, not buying his crap. The best comparison for Butler is probably Travis Hafner. There are some differences here. Both guys are all-around hitters who can hit for power, average and draw walks while not killing themselves with strikeouts. Both guys are barrel-chested with an utter lack of defense. The biggest difference was that Hafner was a late-bloomer and Butler has been fast-tracked to the majors. Of course Butler is a righty and Hafner is a lefty, but that's just a small detail.
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