At What Point Do Colorado Rockies Fans Admit Yohan Flande Is… Good?

Jul 24, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher E. Butler (31) trips over third base in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Yohan Flande vs. Eddie Butler

Butler is the prospect, right? The guy the Rockies are counting on to figure it out and be a key-ish member of the rotation at some point in the future — and while you’d hope that point is 2016, I think most Colorado Rockies fans are rightly a little pessimistic about Butler.

Look, it’s tough to compare two pitchers, especially two who have such different repertoires like Butler and Flande. (But get ready! Because I’m going to do it here! And then again with Rusin!)

Imperfect comparison aside, I’d hope you’re wondering why unknown Flande has outpitched Butler so significantly over the past two seasons, despite Butler’s prospect pedigree.

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Well, for one, Flande isn’t afraid to throw strikes. In his 104.2 career big league innings, the man has walked 2.4 batters per nine innings. Butler has putzed around to nearly double that (4.6 per 9) while somehow still allowing 11.6 hits per nine innings (Flande’s allowed just 8.4 per 9).

We could go through stats all day — and Flande has better marks than Butler across the board — but the real point is this: Butler has a 95 mph sinker while Flande is equipped with a 91 mph fastball, and yet Flande’s in the zone more often, attacks hitters better, works into advantageous pitcher’s counts far more often, and finds far better results.

If nothing else, then what Richard Bergstrom tweeted about Flande the other night is the wisest morsel of info comparing the two pitchers:

Next: Flande vs Rusin