Huntsville’s starters heating up in the summer months

By Aaron Morse

Normally as the weather gets hotter, hitters really get into the swing of things. But for the Huntsville Stars, it’s been their starting pitching in recent weeks that has stood-out thanks to a series of impressive performances.

In the recent series against Chattanooga and Tennessee, Huntsville’s starters went a combined 4-1 with a 1.29 ERA. The team itself has been up and down, going 5-4 during that time span.

For the starting pitching it’s been quite the hot streak, something the Stars hope can be maintained as the second-half of the SL season rolls along.

Josh Butler epitomizes the turnaround. The former second round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2006 draft has moved quickly up the Brewers’ farm system since being acquired in a trade for Gabe Gross in April of 2008.

Last year he started the season in High-A Brevard County and ended it in “The Show” where he made three appearances, all out of the bullpen.

“It was awesome, it was a dream come true,” Butler said. “It’s more than words can say; it was everything I hoped for and more.”

An impingement in his elbow prevented him from starting 2010 in Double or Triple-A as he was supposed to do; so it was off to Brevard County for a rehab assignment.

The 25-year old right hander was hit hard there before coming to Huntsville and throwing four shutout innings in his first outing with the Stars.

But he dropped his next three starts, giving up four runs each time and walking eight batters in 15 innings. Even when he pitched well, such as a June 19 win over Montgomery, his control remained an issue as he walked five batters in 5.2 innings despite not giving up a run.

All of a sudden though in his last two starts it’s like he’s flipped the switch and he’s looked too good for Double-A. Butler’s only walked two batters in his last 13 innings of work and has not surrendered an earned run in his last two outings.

“Over the last couple starts I’ve been feeling a lot better,” Butler said. “My velocity has been getting back up there and my control has been a lot better than how I started off this year, and the combination of the two has put me where I am now.”

It’s not like he’s been doing it against cupcake lineups either. Chattanooga and Tennessee are two of the three top run-producing offenses in the league, and Butler was able to shut both of them down.

“Focusing on my two-seam fastball, making sure I get the sink on it (is important),” Butler said. “With that comes the sharpness on my breaking pitches, and that should carry me back to where I was last year.”

Amazingly, Butler does not own the most dominating performance during the recent run of success.

LHP Chris Cody turned in arguably the best pitching performance of the year in a July 2 win over Chattanooga. He went eight shutout innings, matching staff ace Amaury Rivas for the longest pitching performance of the year for the Stars. He struck-out eight, the most batters he’s whiffed this year, while only walking two and surrendering four hits.

It seemingly came out of nowhere. Cody, 26, entered the game coming off one of his worst outings of the year as he gave up seven runs in 3.1 innings against Jacksonville on June 26.

In response, pitching coach John Curtis suggested a key adjustment prior to the game that might just help the lefty turn his season around.

“Before the game started Coach Curtis and I spoke about what we can do differently than in previous outings,” Cody said. “(He suggested) the use of the cutter.”

Primarily, Cody uses a two-seam fast ball to try and locate low in the zone.

“For whatever reason that hasn’t been working for me lately, so I went in and changed it up; I used my cut fast ball as my primary weapon,” Cody said. “It kept them off-balance, made them a little uneasy and that made all the other pitches that much more effective.”

Cody’s experienced success at the Southern League level before as he went 5-1 with a 2.30 ERA last year for the Stars. He says that he hopes his most recent start can be a springboard to a turnaround this season. He’s recently been placed on the temporary inactive list, but when he returns he’ll continue to be a key to the Stars’ success in the second half.

Hard-throwing right-hander Mark Rogers and Southern League Mid-Season All-Star Amaury Rivas probably have the most potential for long major league careers among the Stars’ starters.

Rogers, 24, a former first round draft pick by the Brewers, has battled injuries over the years. But his velocity is back up this year; it’s only been a matter of getting his control in line. He walked five against Tennessee on July 4, but you can get away with that when the opposition only manages one hit. Moving forward, Rogers, who generally only goes five innings, needs to figure out a way to avoid slow starts. His ERA in the first inning sits at 7.20, compared to his season ERA, which is 3.78.

Rivas, 24, has been as dominating as usual in recent weeks, tossing a complete game (seven innings) shutout June 30 against Chattanooga and beating the Smokies for the second time this year on July 5. He’s been Mr. Consistency; his ERA has only been over 3.00 in one start this year, and he currently sits at eighth in the Southern League with a 2.66 ERA in 2010.

23-year old Lucas Luetge, recently promoted from Brevard County, got a spot start during the two most recent series and only gave up one earned run. Meanwhile Michael Bowman, 23, was the only starter really to suffer a hiccup, surrendering four earned runs in 5.1 innings of work July 3 against Chattanooga. But even Bowman’s start is a little deceiving. His first five innings were excellent, as he only gave up one run, but in the sixth inning things unraveled a bit as the Lookouts scored three to take the lead.

Can the Stars’ starters’ recent success continue? It won’t be easy. They face a red-hot Chattanooga squad for four games before the All-Star break. Recently promoted Michael Fiers takes the hill on Wednesday and Bowman will look to join the run of dominating performances on Thursday. After that Rogers and Rivas will look to help the Stars get their second consecutive series win. Fans won’t see Butler or Cody until after the All-Star break. The other question that will have to be answered is who loses their spot in the rotation once Alex Periard, who has been very consistent this year, comes off the DL? Promotions for Butler and Rivas remain a distinct possibility as well.

There’s still a lot of work to be done if the Stars want to make a run to the Southern League Play-Offs, but recent returns from the starting rotation should give fans a lot of hope.