Billy Butler
From BR Bullpen
Billy Ray Butler
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 225-240 lb.
- High School Samuel W. Wolfson High School
- Debut May 1, 2007
- Born April 18, 1986 in Orange Park, FL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Billy Butler burned up the minors, hitting over .300 with power at every stop and came to the majors in 2007, getting two hits in his debut. He hit .292 as a major league rookie and in his first nine games in 2008 is hitting .400. He is 22 years old (baseball age) in 2008.
In the 2003 junior Pan-Am Cup, Butler hit .414 and slugged .699 for the USA, which won the silver medal. He scored 12 runs, tied for second on the team, and tied Neil Walker for the lead with 5 doubles. He was third in average.
Butler was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft. The 14th overall pick, he was the 4th position player taken, following Matt Bush, Chris Nelson and Neil Walker. As a high school senior, he had hit .426 and slugged .691. After signing for a $1.4 million bonus, he hit .373/.486/.596 for the Idaho Falls Chukars, scoring 74 and driving in 68 in 72 games. He was named the Royals minor league player of the year and the Pioneer League All-Star third baseman. He led the Pioneer League in average, was six points behind Cory Dunlap in OBP, led in runs, tied Brian McFall for the RBI lead and one behind McFall in doubles, having hit 22 of those. Baseball America ranked him as the #4 prospect in the circuit.
Butler began the 2005 season as the third baseman for the High Desert Mavericks but fielded only .842 and was converted to left field. He hit .348/.419/.636 with 25 homers and 91 RBI in 92 games for the Mavericks and was called up to the Wichita Wranglers, where he hit .313/.353/.527 with another 5 homers and 19 RBI. He was again named the Royals minor league player of the year. Baseball America rated him the 5th-best California League prospect, he made the Cal League All-Star team at DH, was the league's Rookie of the Year and lost the batting title by one point to Miguel Montero and was 9 OBP points behind leader Kila Ka'aihue; his slugging was 36 points behind Brandon Wood.
Billy batted .331/.388/.499 for Wichita in 2006 to lead the Texas League in batting average and was fourth with 96 RBI. He went 2 for 3 with a 2-run homer in the 2006 Futures Game and was honored with the Larry Doby Award as the game's brightest star. He finished 10th in the US-based minors in average that year. He was rated as the top batting prospect in the TL according to Baseball America.
After a good first month in AAA in 2007 in which he hit .337/.445/.584 with 23 RBI in 25 games for the Omaha Royals, Billy Butler was called up to the Major Leagues on May 1 and made his major league debut as the Royals' starting left fielder the same day, collecting two hits in four at bats. Butler hit .292/.347/.447 as a regular for the 2007 Royals for a 105 OPS+. He was used primarily at DH.
As of spring training 2008, it appears the Royals have finally come to the conclusion that Billy will be a career DH. He played exclusively DH in his first nine games of the 2008 baseball season. Butler batted .263/.330/.339 in the first 53 games of the 2008 Royals campaign and was sent down to Omaha while Mike Aviles was called up.
In 2009, as the Royals' first baseman, Billy joined very elite company by recording over 20 home runs and over 50 doubles; his 51 doubles placed him second in the American league, behind Brian Roberts.
Main sources: 2005-2007 Baseball Almanacs
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2009)
