KC Royals Have New Speedster in Drew Butera

By David Hill | Mar 11, 2016

Aug 30, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Drew Butera (9) slides safe into third base as Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (3) attempted to tag him out during the third inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The KC Royals offense owes a great deal of its success to their overall team speed. Players like Jarrod Dyson, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar cause havoc on the basepaths, getting in the heads of opposing defenses. Maybe it is time to add Drew Butera to that list.

Looking back over the past two seasons for the KC Royals, most of their iconic moments, especially in the postseason, involved their overall team speed. Moments like Alcides Escobar hitting an inside the park home run on the first pitch during Game One of the 2015 World Series. How Eric Hosmer had his mad dash home on a grounder to third to tie Game Five. Billy Butler stealing second base against the Angels during the 2014 ALDS. These are the moments that Royals fans will remember forever.

While we may still be in Spring Training, the Royals may have uncovered yet another speedster on their roster. Backup catcher Drew Butera, better known for having the second best head of hair on the Royals, behind Rusty Kuntz, showed off his wheels by hitting an inside the park home run.

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Yes, this is the second such home run in the past week for the KC Royals, as Bubba Starling had one earlier. However, Starling is considered to be a potential five tool prospect who has stolen 55 bases in his minor league career. Butera? Well, he has more appearances on the mound (three) than he does stolen base attempts (one, and he was unsuccessful).

However, perhaps Butera’s all around game has not been utilized correctly, and it took a mastermind like Ned Yost to truly unlock his potential. After all, this is the same person who has Escobar, with his sub .300 career on base percentage, batting leadoff. Maybe Yost has plans to utilize Butera’s speed on those rare occasions when he gets in the lineup.

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The KC Royals have done an amazing job of finding hidden talent. Maybe they found a way to unlock the speed aspect of Drew Butera’s game. Or, as is much more likely, this inside the park home run was simply a matter of Spring Training being Spring Training.

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