Just How Soon Should We Expect To See Jonathan Gray and Eddie Butler?

Feb 26, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray poses during photo day at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

While the Colorado Rockies enter their spring training workouts, they have two players on the squad that were non-roster invites to Spring Training — Jonathan Gray (3rd overall pick in 2013) and Eddie Butler (46th overall selection in 2012). These two will be closely monitored in the next month as the Rockies will begin Spring Training games soon. Baseball America has just came out with their Top 100 Prospects and Jonathan Gray ranks at #12.

"After drafting him third overall in June, the Rockies limited Gray from using his devastating slider in his pro debut so that he could focus on fastball command. If Gray learned that lesson, watch out"

Eddie Butler on the other hand ranked relatively high as well, at the number 24 spot.

"The rare premium pitching prospect from Radford, Butler exceeded expectations with his live stuff in 2013. If he repeats his dominance in the early months of 2014, he’ll be pitching in Denver."

These two highly touted prospects probably won’t make the club out of Spring Training, but further down the line this season, they could possibly make their debut. Troy Renck of The Denver Post voiced his opinion of the situation via Twitter.

Prediction wise, I believe we could see both of the guys probably in late-June, early July. Butler will likely be the first player to be called up as Gray will follow. Gray will likely get more seasoning in Double-A Tulsa.

Colorado looks to have a more complete rotation this season opposed to last year. They acquired veteran lefty Brett Anderson from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for southpaw Drew Pomeranz in the offseason. Anderson has ace potential stuff but will need to stay on the field in order for the Rockies to win games. Juan Nicasio on the other hand has something to prove this season, saying ‘I have power…I hit 98, 97 [mph]. The lowest it was last year was 88 or 89, I think. You’re going to see.” via MLB.com. To read more about Juan Nicasio and his new-found velocity, make sure to follow the link.