Billy Butler, Royals

All of these picks came to me in a dream.  I was nursing a sore throat back to health with peyote, and fell back into a dream state of heightened perception of reality while unconscious.  In this dream state my spirit guide, Greg Vaughn, led me down a path to a sacred garden, and it was in this garden that the five players names were spelled out in flowers.  Then I awoke from my dream to Hercules and Love Affair on my TV and became afraid for my life/sanity.  I guess those are the perils of leaving IFC on and doing mind altering drugs.

 

 

Billy Butler – 1B – Kansas City Royals (42% Y! Plus, 27% Y!, 7.6% ESPN)

With players as young as Billy Butler, it can be easy to forget just where they are developmentally.  In Butler’s, you have a 23-year-old currently batting third in a Major League lineup.  Granted, said lineup is that of the Kansas City Royals, but the fact remains that this is a third hitter, and there are going to be opportunities to drive in runs regardless of what lineup Butler is in the middle of. 

 

If hitting third in a lineup isn’t enough to draw your attention to Billy “Bam-Bam” Butler, then maybe his career minor league line of .336/.416/.561/.977 will.  Almost all of that damage was done before the age of 20.  After finishing the 2006 season at Double-A as a 20-year-old, Billy Butler had won his third batting title in the minors.  Upon finding himself hitting .193/.324/.246/.569 on April 27^th, Butler has gone on to raise his line to a respectable .291/.354/.448/.802.    The month of May saw witness to Butler hitting .304/.336/.451/.787 with 15 RBIs, 13 runs, and two homers.  He has also been on base in all but four games since he bottomed out.  While Butler’s power may not come quite yet, he is a pure hitter and a nice addition at a utility or an open infield spot. 

 

 

Jake Fox – RF – Chicago Cubs (26% Y! Plus, 7% Y!, 2.7% ESPN)

Too old to be called a prospect (26 years old until July 20^th), too good to stay in Iowa, the injury depleted Cubs called up Jake Fox.  In 175 plate appearances at AAA-Iowa this season, Fox ripped 17 homers.  Over the course of 40 games, he recorded a .423/.503/.886/1.389 split with an ISO of .463 (no, that is not a typo, that is an ISO of .463).  His 40 runs and 50 RBIs are nothing to scoff at, either. 

 

Maybe he won’t be able to aptly man a position on the field (he is currently working out with Alan Trammell on infield defense), but his bat could end up working its way into the lineup more often than one might expect.  While his obscene numbers in the PCL are simply unsustainable, the level of production that he has ascended to warrants a close look.  If he goes all Nelson Cruz on the National League, you do not want to be the one to miss out on him.

 

 

Carl Pavano – SP – Cleveland Indians (38% Y! Plus, 15% Y!, 6.9% ESPN)

He sure got a lot of money to screw over the Yankees.  I suppose it is only fitting that he go to the longest suffering city in professional sports to rejuvenate his career.  His start against the Yankees on Sunday afternoon dropped his ERA to 5.29.  That 5.29 ERA is insanely inflated by his opening start of the season in Texas.  In that start he gave up nine earned runs in one inning pitched. 

 

Throwing that first game out, his season would look like this: 3.63 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 49 Ks with a 5 – 3 record.  Heading into action Sunday, his BABIP was a very high .351, and his FIP of 3.77 suggested that he’s been pitching better than his numbers suggest.  Were it not for his bullpen letting him down, Sunday would have been his sixth win in the month of May, so it would seem that he has possibly turned the corner.

 

 

Randy Winn – LF, CF, RF – San Francisco Giants (32% Y! Plus, 16% Y!, 26.3% ESPN)

If I were to make a list of things I enjoy doing, recommending that someone pick up Randy Winn would be towards the bottom of the list.  In a game that so often rewards owners who strike gold with high-risk/high-reward acquisitions, Randy Winn is boring.  If Randy Winn were a car, he’d be a Honda Civic. 

 

The thing about a Honda Civic is that it will get you from Point A to Point B without anyone having to worry about anything.  Winn’s eligibility at all three outfield spots can be a quick fix for anyone needing outfield help.  He is on pace to surpass his stolen base total of 2008 of 25.  He is hitting a sustainable .279/.340/.413/.753.  Again, this is not a player that I want to write about, but he is a remarkably consistent average player. 

 

Josh Duggan welcomes your comments at mister.josh.duggan@gmail.com.  If you are going to heave insults in his direction, at least be funny and creative.  He is also the author of a Kansas City Royals blog, Royalscentricity, and a pop culture blog, Inconsiderate Prick.