Arizona Instructional League notebook
That's exactly what Royals outfielder Billy Butler has done in 2006. He hit .331 and drove in 96 runs for Wichita before helping the United States qualify for what may be the last Olympic baseball event in 2008 Olympics (he hit .313 with two homers and eight RBIs in nine games). Then he rushed back to help the Wranglers in the Texas League playoffs, hitting .360 in six games.
"It's definitely has been a long year," said the 20-year-old Butler. "I know how to take it a little better than I did my first year. You learn how your body reacts to it. I'm not necessarily tired. I'm enjoying the extra time I have now. It is a good way to get ready for next spring in a low-key way."
The original plan was for Butler was to play winter ball, but a decision was made that perhaps that wouldn't serve the best interest of Butler or the Royals.
"I was going to go to the Dominican," Butler said. "I'm guessing Dayton Moore, our GM, he felt I didn't need it. I need to take this offseason to be ready for spring. Maybe I'll have a chance to make the team."
That's where the idea of heading to instructs came in. It's pretty clear that the 2006 Futures Game MVP has a bat ready to hit in the big leagues. The question has always been his glove. Drafted as a third baseman, he moved to the outfield and has made steady progress there. Going to instructs enables him to focus only on that with the hope he'll be a complete enough player to make the Royals lineup on Opening Day 2007.
"I'm working on my defense. That's the part of the game that's a little behind, but it's not as far behind as it was," Butler said. "Defensively, what's gotten a lot better has been my routes to the ball. They're pretty good now, but that's the thing I need to work on more -- reading the ball. Every day I'm out there, I get better at it."
Butler is not playing in instructional league games. Instead, he joins the group for defensive drills and works on his conditioning the rest of the time.
If, for whatever reason, Butler does not make the Royals' 25-man roster next spring, it won't be from a lack of effort. It's rare for a player as advanced and accomplished as Butler to go to instructs at all. The fact that it turns out he did so voluntarily speaks volumes of the work ethic he has to get himself ready for the big leagues.
"They gave me a a choice. I didn't have to come," Butler said. "Some guys opted not to come, but I'm not that type of a player. If they want me to do something, they obviously want me to do it for a reason. In Spring Training, they said I'm going to get that chance. I'm going to do everything I can to help my chances of making it out of camp."
He had the same kind of choice when he was presented with the opportunity to head to Cuba for Olympic Qualifying. He could have stuck around to finish off a very satisfying year in Wichita or participate in playing for Team USA in international competition. For Butler, it was a no-brainer.
"Anytime you can be a part of a team that beats Cuba and beats them on their own turf, that's rare," Butler said. "We definitely didn't have the most talented guys Team USA ever had, but we had the team with the fire and swagger to get it done. We were fearless."
Butler will finally get a chance to relax and reflect on a hectic 2006 season by the end of October. But he won't rest for too long. What could be a very big spring looms just around the corner.
"We'll probably have to report by Feb. 15 or so," Butler said. "I'm sure I'll get there at least a week before."
Texas Rangers
As instructional league rosters go, the Rangers' 2006 group is a little long in the tooth. This isn't a case of stacking a roster with veterans for wins, as sometimes happens across the Minor Leagues. That's not what instructs is about. It just so happens that the players at Rangers camp in Surprise are a little bit older than usual.
"We've got a veteran group there, concentrating on specific things," Rangers director of Minor League operations John Lombardo said. "Guys are working on certain pitches, holding runners on. We're working on the little things with position players, forcing their hand to do things you wouldn't force them to do non-stop during the season.
"It's a learning atmosphere, but it's encouraging that they're going out and competing, trying to win games. That is a part of development, learning to win. "
Helping with that endeavor is a handful of youngsters who are not just there to bring the average age of the roster down. The Rangers brought eight players from their Dominican complex to Arizona. They range in age from 16 to 19, and instructs serves as a perfect environment to introduce them to the Rangers system.
These teenagers, while getting the same individual instruction as the veterans in camp, aren't necessarily working on specific things. Of all the players in camp, this octet -- which includes seven pitchers -- is being allowed to go out and play so the Rangers can see just what they have.
"As a whole, the guys we're not used to seeing yet, the young Latin players, have jumped out at us," Lombardo said. "We're letting them go out and play a little bit more."
A pair of right-handers have really stood out. Fabio Castillo, a 6-foot-3 17-year old who had a 3.46 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 26 DSL innings, and 16-year-old Wilmer Font, who is 6-foot-4 and playing in a Rangers uniform for the first time at any level, have been impressive. On the offensive side, third baseman Emmanuel Solis also has done a nice job in his introduction to the organization.
"For a lot of these guys, it's their first experience in the United States, around us and in our complex," Lombardo said. "Wathcing them with their energy, it lights a fire under the other guys, too. It's nice to get an influx of energy into camp."
Los Angeles Dodgers
Usually, it's a good thing when you have your young first-round pitchers come to instructs. After they hopefully got their feet wet over the summer, instructs provides the first real opportunity to officially introduce the player to the organization, its methods, plans and expectations.
When the Dodgers decided to add first-rounders Clayton Kershaw and Bryan Morris, the idea was to bring another pair of talented arms into an already talent-laden system. Unfortunately, it hasn't gone that way.
In Morris' last outing of the year for Ogden of the Pioneer League, the right-hander felt a little something in his elbow. The initial MRI was inconclusive, so he was sent home to rest with the thought that rehab might take care of it. Some time passed and he was still having some discomfort, so he came to instructs to rehab and meet with trainers. He didn't throw a single pitch.
Once in Arizona, the Dodgers took Morris to see Dr. Frank Jobe, who recommended Tommy John surgery. It wasn't one of those cases where it was obvious, but there was also the chance they could spend all offseason rehabbing, only to see Morris go down in Spring Training and need the surgery anyway. With Morris's age -- he's just 19 -- as a key, the Dodgers decided to go ahead and have him go under the knife. Morris had the surgery about a week ago.
"Let's hope he's on the path (Nick) Adenhart is on," Dodgers scouting director Logan White said, referring to the Angels pitching prospect who had Tommy John surgery in his draft year of 2004 and is already up to the California League as one of the better pitching prospects in the game. "We're hoping the same thing happens with Bryan.
"There's always risk. I wish he didn't have to have it, but the track record is so good I'm optimistic. For us, you never want it to happen, but we feel we have time. He's not our only prospect."
They had Chad Billingsley, who established himself in the big leagues this year, and Scott Elbert not far behind. It may be time to add Kershaw to that list. The first first-rounder the Dodgers took threw well in his debut, just as Morris did (some reports had Morris clocked as high as 98; White personally had him at 96 with a good curve). Kershaw, who had a 1.95 ERA with 54 strikeouts and just five walks in 37 innings for the Gulf Coast League Dodgers, hasn't let up at all this fall.
"Kershaw is throwing pretty well so far," said White, who took the Texas lefty with the No. 7 overall pick in last June's draft. "I was impressed with him. He's still at 96 mph. It's kind of amazing for a high school kid to be throwing that hard in instructional league."
Oakland A's
While instructional league camps are usually the domain of young up-and-comers, occasionally some already-there types come for a little work. In Phoenix recently, one visit may end up helping the A's playoff chances.
MLB.com A's reporter Mychael Urban reported on Tuesday that Rich Harden was named the Game 3 starter against the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. Harden hasn't pitched since Oct. 1, but Oakland sent the right-hander to instructs to throw so the A's could evaluate whether he was ready for the start.
"We've gotta find out what Rich can do," Oakland director of player personnel Billy Owens said before Game 1 of the ALCS at McAfee Coliseum. "Now he's ready to pitch."
Owens, farm director Keith Lieppman and pitching coach Curt Young were in Phoenix on Monday to watch Harden throw in the instructional league game.
His velocity was in the low 90s, a touch lower than his usual speed, during a four-inning stint. He got tired in the fourth, but the general consensus was that the mechanical issues that had given the club's decision-makers pause have been addressed to their satisfaction.
"They feel good about how the ball was coming out of his hand," A's manager Ken Macha said. "My concern (all along) was how he threw the ball in Anaheim."
By having Harden start Game 3, he would be available to stat a potential Game 7 on his regular turn.
Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com.