Keith Butler

Keith Allen Butler (born January 30, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Education A native of Morgantown, Kentucky, Butler attended Butler County High School and Wabash Valley College. At Wabash he made 20 appearances for the "Warriors", posting a 2.72 ERA with 59 strikeouts and an overall record of 6–2 in 43 innings of work on the mound. He split time his first season between the Gulf Coast League Cardinals and the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League, posting a combined 1–1 record for the season with an ERA of 2.08 and 38 strikeouts over innings. The performance was good enough to earn honors as The Cardinal Nation/Scout.com Gulf Coast League Cardinals "Reliever of the Year". In 2011 Butler again found himself splitting time between teams. He started the season with the Quad Cities River Bandits, pitching innings in 12 games allowing just two runs while striking out 16 batters before advancing to the Palm Beach Cardinals. Following the season, Butler was added to the Cardinals' 40-man roster to protect him during the Rule 5 draft.

Major leagues On May 31, 2013, Butler was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Butler made 16 appearances for St. Louis during his rookie campaign, recording a 4.05 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 20 innings of work.

Butler appeared in two contests for the Cardinals in 2014, but allowed six runs on six hits with two strikeouts over two innings of work. On May 24, 2014, it was revealed that Butler would require season-ending Tommy John surgery to repair a tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament. On November 18, Butler was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

Butler split the 2015 campaign between Memphis and Palm Beach, accumulating a 2–3 record and 5.28 ERA with 36 strikeouts and two saves in innings pitched across 37 appearances. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2015.