Billy Butler's value: Royals > other teams

I have short of 50 years of following baseball, so I'm still a punk at this.

I just guess that Billy Ray Bob, (BUBBA) Butler will not make it into the HOF on the first ballot. He will spill the milk and leave cookie crumbs that will upset the sportswriters to no end.

Should be a lock on the second ballot though.

This talk of moving Grudz is just ridiculous. He is the third ranked 2B in all of MLB. Wouldn't know it from the TV announcers, but guy has a gold glove and hits over .300.

What is wrong with you folks? There's a superstar in Kansas City and you don't even know it!! Just proves that this is a small market town. How many votes for the ALL-STAR team for GRUDZ.

You make me sick.

Are you nuts????

Why would you trade the next George Brett?

To be real here,,,,, Butler is better than Brett was at this stage of his career.

Dayton doesnt make the typical Royals move,,,, stick with the plan Mr Moore.

Anyone that wants the Royals to even consider trading Butler, doesn't truly understand baseball at all, and it's history. Here is something I think too many people miss. Tony Pena Jr. will NEVER be a good hitter in the majors, for one really good reason. He gets himself out. Butler is 22, and still learning. But, I have NEVER seen such a young Royal with such an incredible understanding of the strike zone. Remember Jack Clark? The Slugger that was the power in the RedBird attack for so many years, after S.F. foolishly let him get away? What Clark did, was make YOU get him out, because he refused to get himself out. Jack had holes in his swing, and he knew it. But, he made you, the pitcher exploit them, by virtue of his extreme patience. Butler has that Jack Clark mentality, in that he refuses to swing at pitchers pitches, unless he has 2 strikes, and even then, if he knows it is borderline, and may be called a ball, he will take the pitch. That is VERY smart, because to protect the plate on a borderline pitch, means only a weak ground ball that is a double play ball, if there is a force condition. In other words, Billy already shows a very advanced intelligence to hitting. People, this guy is going to break out late this season, and next year, is going to go on a tear. I am not going to say he will ever be as good a hitter as Brett, and he doesn't have Brett's speed. But, he does have Brett's attitude, and one heck of a sweet swing and understanding of the strike zone. What I will say is this. He *WILL* be one of the best hitters the Royals have ever had, AND, I will say that I would not put it past him to surpass George in many offensive categories.
This is a young team that is building. Really, we don't have any old guys that are tearing the place up, except Grud. And, frankly, Grud is way too important to the development of these kids to trade. And, I can see Grud making an excellent coach once his playing days are done. So, fact of the matter is, sit tight, and let the talent you already have develop. Dayton Moore has done a PHENOMINAL job of building a strong, young, nucleus for the the long term competitiveness of the Royals. The worst mistake he could make is to give up on any of the young players now.
John G.

I remember the last time the american league central had a overweight 21 year old DH come up that didnt seem to have enough power... in his first 3 years he hit 10 homeruns, the 3 years following that he hit 10, 18, and 20 homeruns respectively so his team gave up on him, justifying it by a DH who can not really play defense is not worth it unless he has a lot of power and clearly this now 26 year old would never have any power. Yes, for all you smart fans out there I am talking about some guy named David Ortiz!!!!!! He has been pretty good the last few years hasn't he? Lay off Billy, he is just young. Most guys that dominate at a young age went to college, ala Albert Pujos. I am not saying Billy will be David Ortiz, but I am not going to say that he wont be either. He is still a cornerstone for the royals. I am sure I will get some angry replys but thats okay, I will take my chances with Billy.

When they let him play first base, he did fine. If Gload hadn't started hitting a little while Butler was in Omaha, Butler would be back at first.

I admit he can't run worth a damn, but that's the way he's built. Not everyone can be a Gathright. Butler's gotten doubles that would have been triples for others.

He's a big kid, and he's fun to watch. I hope they keep him.

To all of you who are saying "The Royals knew he didn't have defensive value but still drafted him -- they should have known better!" Well, they did that in 1999 by passing on a local talent that everybody knew could hit but didn't play a position. That seemed to work out well for the Cardinals in Albert Pujols. Point is, it doesn't matter how bad somebody is defensively -- if they are an impact bat, they'll find a place on the field. Either that or we could have an entire team of Rey Sanchez. You choose.

During last nights game, the O's broadcast team relayed a conversation they had with both the O's and Royals hitting coaches: The O's hitting coach said it takes 1500 Major League PAs (plate appearances) to know what you have in a hitter... Barnett said it takes 2000 PAs. So our hitting coach thinks it takes anywhere from 3 to 4 full big league seasons to tell what kind of hitter you have. Obviously Butler is right around ONE full season.

I think the frustration and the trade talks are coming b/c he's not living up to potential yet. Let's see how many Royals fans want to trade Butler in 2 more years.

This is a bad one, and I apologize in advance for bringing it up. But...does BB remind anyone else of Grimace (aka Ken Harvey)? I mean, they were both similarly inept in the field and are both as slow as Mike LeVallier. Worst of all is the trend they're setting as 300 pound singles hitters. Nobody in baseball needs a 300lb singles hitter. NOBODY.

Please, BB, get your fat ass in shape, and show up to Spring Training ready to play. Talent gets you to the majors, but talent + effort + dedication *keep* you in the majors. Take a look in the mirror and ask if you've given everything it takes to stay in the majors. Or take a look to Community America Ballpark and see if that's where you want to end up.

Billy Butler should not be traded nor should any of our young core. We are not "really" in the playoff race and we should not expect to be this year either. We are starting to form a solid young nucleus that hopefully will be very productive in the future. The problem with any of the trades this month is that we will get a couple of minor leaguers that MIGHT make it to Kansas City in the next four or five years. Why send Butler, Grienke, etc to anyone when they are that young and have produced for us for some no names that we would get in return? I love Grudzy but he is a piece to look at trading.

As far as Moustakas moving to a new position, who cares! He is very young and we selected a kid who could really be a power hitter for us in the future. I would guess that a fourth of MLB position players were drafted at a different position than they are playing now. Dayton will find us a deal that makes us better if there is one out there.
Royals Fan Forever

I guess back in 2006 the Royals offered Butler for Yuniesky Betancourt and was turned down; even back when Butler was tearing up AA and everyone thought he was going to be a hitting superstar the Royals were willing to deal him; granted it was for a position of need but I think that shows they have always been worried about his lack of a postion.

1. Everything Sam said.
2. He's been productive in his short time in the majors, relative to the team.
3. He's 22. He's 4-5 years away from his statistical peak, and his minor/major numbers aren't anything atypical--he's trending big.
4. The Royals are in no hurry. They're not going to win this year.
5. The Royals HAVE to build a team by "waiting" for prospects to develop.
6. Also, every other team in the majors with (2-3) exceptions have to build teams this way. You can't build teams through free agency anymore. We got Guillen, who was arguably the best of the free agent crop, and ended up giving 8 figures to a somewhat above average corner outfielder. (I'm not knocking Guillen--it's nice actually having some power in the middle of the lineup, and his hot streaks are something to behold. But he's got an OPS+ of 104, and he's hitting slightly less well than he did last year. And he's aging.)
7. He's twenty-freaking-two.
8. How on earth are we going to get value for this guy? You trade Butler, you're getting crummy prospects or overpriced underperforming veterans.
9. Who's going to play first? Gload? Teahen (meaning Gathright plays every day?) You'd seriously rather have Gload or Gathright playing over Butler? Neither of them can hit.
9. I...I...I can't believe this is seriously discussed.

I guess it's a moot point, because this is never, in a million years, going to happen. But I'm all worked up.

(By the way, Moustakas was never going to be our "shortstop of the future". Everyone there was a 95% chance he wouldn't pan out there, but they gave him a shot just to see. He's most likely to end up as a left fielder, but since he's 2-3 years off, what position he'll play is not a terribly crucial issue just now.)

Sigh. I'm done. Thank you for letting me work out some anxieties.

Royal's management knew that Billy Butler was a one dimensional player when they drafted him. Despite this fact, they selected him as a high draft choice and paid him a substantial bonus. Somebody should have raised questions about his inability to play a position. He is too slow for the outfield and too short for first base. Maybe he can be a catcher.
Now we learn that number #1 draft choice, Mike Moustakas can't play shortstop very well and will have to move to third base. Some members of the scouting staff should be moved elsewhere.

The trouble I see with the Royals is that they have coveted these name prospects for so long. They hung their hat on guys who were drafted in the marquee rounds and then when the dust settled, there wasn't much to be had. I'm not anti-Billy Butler. I'm pulling for him as much as the next guy wearing a Royals hat. But I'm trying to be realistic that if Kansas City is going to truely grow this franchise, they HAVE to be willing to move players that are or were once thought of as "cornerstones" of the rebuilding process. This is the only way KC will be able to acquire needs in an efficient manner.

I agree that Butler's stock value is down right now. However, what happens if we're sitting her next year having the same conversation about him? What if in 2010 the year KC is supposed to go undefeated and win the World Series, Butler is still floundering at 30 RBI's, 10 HR's and nothing more than doubles and singles by the All-Star break? He'll only be 24-25 years old. Still convinced he's a building block? All I'm trying to do is point out that KC has the potential to be decent next year, but it may take giving up a guy like a Butler to go get a guy with some serious pop or a great arm.

If you still think I'm full of it, here's some names to jog your memory. I'm sure if you Google back far enough, you might find some quotes mentioning these guys projecting to be middle of the line-up types for the "future":

Dee Brown
Brandon Berger
Kit Pellow
Byron Gettis
Cal Pickering
Justin Huber
Mitch Maier
Craig Brazell
Matt Tupman
Chris Lubanski - the "Billy Butler" of the 2003 draft.

I think the problem with Butler is those stats are all good and fine, but we can't afford another .270 hitter with 10 HR in a season with no position. We have got to have some power and if trading Butler for someone who has a better track record than him power wise at this point doesn't seem all that bad of an idea to me. I get that he had potential and what not, but he shows no signs of driving the ball.

Grant it yes that usually comes in a player's second or third full year in the majors, so personally I agree and think we need to hold onto him, but I can see the flip side too.