Sep 18, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jose Butto (70) pitches against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: New York Mets at Miami Marlins
(Queens, NY) – After pitching six scoreless frames and picking up nine strikeouts – a career high – Jose Butto is making the most of his opportunity at the major league level.
With ace Kodai Senga on the shelf, and his injury fill-in Tylor Megill dealing with a shoulder ailment of his own, Butto has now made two spot starts. His dominant showing against the Royals en route to an eventual win was definitely his best showing to date, after making eight starts over the previous two seasons.
Writing for SNY, Mets insider John Harper says a scout passed along observations about the 26-year-old Butto: “He was very good today. I think the Mets are finally waking up to what they may have. He’s a solid back-end starter with three solid pitches. He got some swings and misses on his bottom of the strike zone changeup today.”
Never a prospect who topped the list from Baseball America or similar publications, Butto is not a guy who profiles as a “top of the rotation” starter because his fastball velocity is around 93-94 MPH (touching 95) which is hardly front-end “stuff” in 2024.
The same scout admitted to Harper that Butto is “”not overpowering,” but added that may have led to him being overlooked – because the right hander is able to hit his spots and pitch with intelligence. “His fastball plays up at times with his good changeup,” the scout explained to Harper.
Post game, after the bullpen did its job and the Mets held on to win against Kansas City 2-1, manager Carlos Mendoza was similarly complementary of his young pitcher. “(Butto’s) not going anywhere,” Mendoza grinned.
“He can pitch. He attacked hitters today, but when he got behind in counts, he as able to pitch backwards. He found pitches to get back into counts. I told him, ‘what a great outing.”
Butto’s fastball is paired with his changeup as well as a cutter/slider. Although his two-start debut here in 2024 can be fairly described as a “small sample size,” it’s worth noting Butto pitched to a 3.29 ETA over five starts last year, averaging more than one strikeout per inning.
For a Mets team looking to build out its starting rotation not just this year but in future seasons as well, that’s something the team can certainly live with.
