CHARLOTTE — Providence High righthander Ty Buttrey from Charlotte has been a player who has been rising up draft boards lately after he was touching 95-96 mph earlier in the season.

He didn't quite have his best stuff in his April 4 start against Charlotte Christian in the Jack Sink Memorial Tournament, but Buttrey still battled through 6 1/3 innings.

"I definitely didn't feel my best," Buttrey said of the outing. "It kind of started in the 'pen. I just felt like my fastball wasn't on today. Later on, I think the fifth inning, Coach (Danny) Hignight just asked me what I have to throw to get outs, so we switched to two-seamers and changeups and I just kind of used those from the fifth inning on. It was just one of those days when you don't have your best stuff and you just try to manage with what you've got."

Buttrey's fastball in this outing was in the 92-93 mph range early on, but he quickly settled into the 90-92 range and held that velocity throughout the game. He throws a changeup with good fade at times in the 83-85 mph range and a hard downer curveball that is consistently between 77-79 mph.

"It's actually a knuckle-curve," Buttrey said. "I've never really been able to throw the traditional curveball and I just feel like I can really get on top of this one. It was pretty much my go-to pitch today. It's always been my go-to strikeout pitch."

Buttrey has a large frame and even at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, he still has room to add muscle. His delivery is pretty smooth, although he does have a little wrist wrap in the back that can cause his curveball to flatten out at times. In addition to his stuff, one of Buttrey's best attributes is his breakneck tempo on the mound. He pitches like his car is parked next to a fire hydrant, never letting batters get comfortable and he also didn't show any emotion on the mound.

Some scouts believe Buttrey's drop in fastball velocity from earlier in the year is because he's also used sometimes as a reliever in between his start days.

"I've come in relief about two times this year and closed once," Buttrey said. "It's all right. I like the preparation and getting mentally focused before a start and if I had to pick one, it'd be to start any day. But I'll do whatever it takes to help us win."

Buttrey, an Arkansas recruit, was taken out of the game in the seventh with Providence trailing 3-2 and they were losing 4-2 as they came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh, but wound up scoring two runs to win the game.

Below is video of Buttrey's second inning. . .