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Chicago Cubs: Eddie Butler shows great promise in first start

By Dan Schmelzer

May 12, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Eddie Butler (33) pitches during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Eddie Butler (33) pitches during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports /
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Have the Chicago Cubs found a diamond in the rough in starting pitcher Eddie Butler? He certainly got off to a strong start on Friday.

When the Chicago Cubs traded for Eddie Butler this offseason, the comparison to Jake Arrieta was impossible not to make. Like Arrieta, Butler is a former top prospect who mowed through the minor leagues but was never able to have success at the major league level.

In 36 career appearances (28 of which were starts) for the Colorado Rockies, Butler had a 6.50 ERA. He always struggled with command and his good stuff was not able to bail him out in the big leagues.

The Cubs acquired Butler on a low-cost flyer over the offseason and he has immediately played well with the organization. In five starts at Triple-A Iowa, Butler 1.17 ERA and only walked 2.3 batters per nine innings. A small sample size, but if the Cubs were able to help Butler fix his command issues, he could have an extremely bright MLB future.

Butler made his first start for the Chicago Cubs on Friday, pitching six scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. He picked up the win while only allowing two hits, striking out five and walking three. It wasn’t a perfect showing, as the Cardinals’ hitters were able to work deep counts against Butler, but he showed a ton of ability in his first showing.

Butler has a bit of an unorthodox cross body delivery that will remind you of Arrieta. He hides the ball extremely well and gets a lot of natural movement on his pitches. Also, Butler’s fastball was consistently in the 94-96 MPH range on Friday night. If he can keep that up and continue to locate his pitches well, the Cubs may have found themselves a strong fifth starter with some upside.

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The rotation has been an issue for the Cubs at the start of the season. Brett Anderson was awful before hitting the disabled list and their top four of Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey and Kyle Hendricks have not been as consistent as we are used to seeing.

The Cubs’ rotation needs a shot in the arm. It is still early, but Butler may be the guy to give it to them.

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