The Cincinnati Reds picked up infielder Blake Butler in the 15th round of the 2015 draft out of the College of Charleston. The Reds sent Butler to the Arizona League to begin his professional career.
Things got out to a slow start in the first two weeks for Butler, playing in eight games he went just 3-25, posting a .120/.120/.160 line without a single walk and with 10 strikeouts in 25 plate appearances.
He didn’t play for three days after that stretch, but when he returned to the lineup everything had changed. Butler went 3-4 with two doubles on the 9th of July and hasn’t let up since. In the 11 games he’s played since that rough start he’s hit .500/.522/.762 over 46 plate appearances with seven doubles and two triples. Eight of the last 11 games have been multi-hit games, including three different 3-hit games.
That incredible run has led to an overall line of .358/.380/.537 for Butler. His average is currently 6th in the league and his slugging percentage ranks 5th. His .918 OPS is also 5th best in the league.
Yesterday I left him off of the Cincinnati Reds Hot List for week 15 in a complete oversight. With just how hot he’s been over the last three weeks it seemed right to put it out there just how well he’s been hitting.