Ray does three things well, but one thing poorly that leads to another poor thing.
- Born: September 22, 1994
- B/T: Left/Left
- 6’0″, 195-lbs
- Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1st round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Louisville (Louisville, KY)
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
The power has been increasing every year, not into prodigious territory, but getting respectable. The speed has been there. The defense is there. When you get a power/speed/defense player, you can start dreaming.
Then the nightmare that his his strikeout rate makes you wake up screaming.
He draws walks too, so that OBP is just inexcusable. If you play in OBP leagues, thank you for stopping by.
If we break out his 2019, it’s interesting that he started in AAA, then got injured in May, then rehabbed in AA, before finishing the year in AAA again. It did not go well for him in AAA, other than power.
His AA numbers, power aside, are pretty good.
His AAA numbers, power aside, are pretty bad.
Injuries, man, it’ll get you every time.
He just didn’t like his stay in San Antonio.
It’s more pull power than opposite field, though there is some. As I said, the power is growing.
We see that injury gap from late May onward.
He had a good 2018, until a late fade, but from a lofty level.
2019, to look at the positive side, started from a lowly level, he got injured, and then he improved back to a near average OPS. He tried.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: Not on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: Not on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: Not on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: #766 on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: Not on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #370 on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: Not on the Top 250.
Warnings
The strikeouts!
The OBP!
The injuries!
Conclusion
He’s still got speed, and he still has raw power. If you need production and can spare BA, he can produce, and for the Brewers there is still a future for Ray as a starting OF. But oh, those strikeouts…