Billy Butler, OF, Kansas City Royals

May 9, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Caleb Benoit
Edited by Ryan Dodson

Needing to fill a hole left by injured first baseman Ryan Shealy (hamstring) and spark an offense that was ranked 11th in the American League in runs scored, the Kansas City Royals started the month of May by calling up Billy Butler, arguably the top hitting prospect left in the minor leagues.

Here's what the 21-year-old former first-round pick has done in his five professional seasons:

Table: Billy Butler's minor league statistics (2004-07)

Year	Level	AB	2B	HR	RBI	AVG
04	RK	260	22	10	68	.373
05	A+	379	30	25	91	.348
05	AA	112	9	5	19	.313
06	AA	447	33	15	96	.331
07	AAA	89	4	6	23	.337

Butler has certainly proven himself at the plate in the minor leagues, never hitting less than .313 at any stop. While his home run and walks rates regressed last year, he won the Texas League batting title as a 20-year-old, and he struck out only 67 times in 535 plate appearances.

The team sent him to Triple-A Omaha to work on his defense despite leading the team in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average (.419/.514/.774) during spring training. But with Shealy disabled - and outfielder Reggie Sanders out with a torn hamstring - GM Dayton Moore called up his top hitter in the minors. And it doesn't look like he's going anywhere.

"We wouldn't bring Billy up if we thought it was a short-term fix," Moore told MLB.com. "We are expecting me to do well and perform and get big hits and be able to have good at-bats in RBI situations. We expect him to do well."

While he's projected long-term as a designated hitter, Butler's defense has improved to the point where he can play the field somewhat. In his first seven games with the Royals, he has started six in left field and one at first base while hitting in the seventh spot in the order.

Even when Shealy comes back, it's hard seeing Butler moving anywhere, especially if he hits at the level his track record suggests. Moore has been criticized for bring Butler up to play for a team not in contention - at this pace, he's on schedule to be arbitration eligible after 2009 - but that matters little to fantasy owners. He's a good play in AL-only leagues, deep mixed leagues and keeper leagues. He's also worth a look for depth in a shallow mixed league. He could hit .290 with 15 home runs in 400 at-bats.

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Caleb Benoit
Caleb has been with KFFL since 2007.

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