Joey Butler is one of those players that I love to root for. He played for New Market in 2006, and was later drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round of the 2008 draft (out of New Orleans).
He worked his way up the ladder of the minors year by year, finally getting a call up from the Rangers in 2013. He acquitted himself well in just a few weeks, going 4-12, with 2 doubles and a 3/6 BB/K ratio. Then the Rangers tried to pass him through waivers at the end of the 2013 season, and the St. Louis Cardinals scooped him up.
To be honest, and this may be sacrilege for a Phillies fan, but if an organization is going to be interested in a former Valley League player, I would want it to be St. Louis. The Cardinals seem to get the most out of their draft picks- in fact, they stole possible Valley Leaguer Matt Adams in 2009 in the 23rd round, and he’s now a critical part of their lineup. (Matt was going to play for the Waynesboro Generals in ’09, but he signed to play pro ball instead.)
All this to get to this point: Joey Butler is in Triple-A Memphis in the Cardinals’ system, and he’s killing the ball so far. Sure, it’s the Pacific Coast League, a notorious hitters’ league, but Joey is hitting 471/571/794 after 14 games and 34 at-bats. He’s hit 2 doubles, 3 home runs, scored 9 runs, and driven in 10. (When he hits his 5th home run of the season, Joey will pass Rebel Ridling into second place for career home runs in the minor leagues (behind Clint Robinson (Harrisonburg 05-06).) At this rate, he’ll hit his 5th next week.
I hope that Joey will get a few more at-bats in the majors this year; this start certainly doesn’t hurt his chances!
All Things Valley League 