Chicago Cubs: 5 potential trades for a bullpen arm
By Ryan Sikes
There’s a lot to like about Ty Buttrey, especially with how few batters he walks.
The Chicago Cubs should be familiar with Ty Buttrey. He made an appearance back on April 13 when the Angels visited Wrigley Field. Buttrey has been the primary set-up man for the Angels this season with six holds already.
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He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft and was part of the Ian Kinsler trade. Buttrey made his major league debut last season in August and finished with a 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched to go along with 20 strikeouts and just five walks.
What I like most about Buttrey is how many groundballs he gets. His one and only out in the appearance against the Cubs was via groundball and he’s averaging close to 54 percent of balls hit in play (via Fangraphs). I also like how well he mixes up his pitches. Buttrey’s primary pitch is his fastball that tops out at 96 mph, but he only throws it approximately 50 percent of the time.
He has a terrific curveball (11 percent) and changeup (35 percent) to keep hitters off-balance. Buttrey has struck out 33 percent of the batters he has faced this season and is walking them at just 5.5 percent (via Fangraphs). Hitters are also getting the barrel of the bat on his pitches at a ridiculous 3 percent of at-bats. He is only signed through this season, so the Cubs would need to consider an extension if they like what they see in Buttrey.
The Angels look to be a basement dweller again in 2019 and have no immediate prospects at second base. The big league squad consists of a second baseman by committee system. The Cubs signed shortstop Aramis Ademan in the 2015-2016 International Free Agent Market. He is currently with High-A Myrtle Beach and is projected to be ready by 2021. Scouts are high on his ability to be able to handle either the shortstop or second base position. He is currently slashing 0.286/0.435/0.510 with two home-runs in 16 games this season.