Faces on the Field: Billy Butler

Billy Butler isn't a bookworm, but he admittedly stays up to speed with what's written about him in baseball publications.

Butler reads the good, which hails him as an elite prospect, a home-run basher and a Royals savior. He reads the bad, too, which claims his poor defensive skills will slow his path to the Majors and force him into a full-time designated hitter's role.

Yet Butler, a 20-year-old outfielder at Double-A Wichita, dismisses the latter. He insists he's going to remain an everyday player.

"That's something that motivates me, and I'm not going to let that happen," he said. "You can ask around and ask people how I've come along defensively in the outfield. They will tell you that I can play out there in the big leagues."

Butler has improved his defense in the outfield, where he moved last season after a rough stretch at third base. He's committed just four errors through 52 games this season for the Wranglers.

In 2004, the year the Royals drafted Butler 14th overall in the First-Year Player Draft, he committed 30 errors from June onward. And he committed 18 at third for Class A High Desert last season before making the switch.

Still, Butler's improvement in the field doesn't necessarily mean he's ready for a promotion to Triple-A Omaha. He's only 20, and he'll need more refinement before taking that next step.

"When you talk about playing Triple-A and the big leagues, you have to be able to do more than one thing," Wichita manager Frank White said. "You have to be able to play defense along with your hitting."

Butler's hitting, particularly his power, is just fine. He isn't slugging home runs at an Albert Pujols-like rate, yet he's putting up numbers similar to '05 this season.

Last season, Butler hit a combined 30 home runs between High Desert and Wichita. He's hit seven more this year -- slightly behind last season's pace -- and he's batting .295 with 29 RBIs.

"I think he's come along really well," White said. "I think a lot of people probably thought he would come in and take the [Texas League] by storm."

Take the league by storm? Butler's the youngest guy on his team. And he can't even go out with older teammates after a game.

But Butler's been handling older pitchers just fine.

"This year, they've pitched him pretty tough," White said. "But he's been able to keep his head above water."

Butler's been a pleasure for White to work with as well.

"I think Billy's a kid at heart, and every day's a learning experience for him," White said. "He's a guy who has a lot of questions. I don't think the game was designed to be that easy, and he's a guy who, to this point, hitting is really easy for him."

Too bad playing defense doesn't come as easily. Butler's working at it, though. He's determined to prove his doubters wrong.

"Potentially," Butler said, "I could be a good outfielder."