Lawrence Butler's Rough Start Comes With a Big Asterisk

As of right now, out of the six pitchers the A's are slated to face, five of them are right-handers. And while Butler has struggled against right-handed pitching so far, he will get his fair share of opportunities to right that ship. Here is how Butler matches up against the next six pitchers, obviously subject to change, but as of now, these are the projected starters.

Game one in Seattle: Emerson Hancock

Emerson Hancock is off to a very nice start this season. He holds a 2-1 record, 2.28 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts. 70% of the pitches he throws to left-handed hitters are fastballs. When right-handers throw fastballs to Butler this season, he is hitting: .250 BA (.325 xBA), .393 SLG (.482 xSLG), but he has a whiff rate of roughly 32%.

Hancock's fastball run value ranks in the 98th percentile this season, and he holds a 29.4% strikeout rate (82nd percentile) with a 4.7% walk rate (89th percentile). He is 0-for-6 with a strikeout in his career vs. Hancock, making this an interesting matchup Monday night.

Game two in Seattle: Luis Castillo

Unlike Hancock, Luis Castillo's start to 2026 has been bumpy. In four starts, Castillo has a 5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts. 59% of pitches thrown to left-handers are fastballs, but his second-most used pitch is his slider, which he utilizes 30% of the time. Against lefties, Castillo's slider produces a 28.6% whiff rate and has a .222 BA.

Butler against breaking pitches from right handers is hitting .200. In his career vs. Castillo, Butler is 3-for-11 with a double, home run, and a .313 xBA.

Game Three in Seattle: Logan Gilbert

Logan Gilbert has had a lot of success against the A's in his career. This season, his surface level stats tell a different story than his advanced metrics do. Gilbert in five starts this season: 29 innings, 32 strikeouts, 4.03 ERA (3.06 xERA), and a 1.17 WHIP. Gilbert throws his 4-seam the most against lefties, with his slider and cutter almost tied for second most this year.

Butler is 1-for-8 with a double and a walk against Gilbert. One note against Gilbert this season is he hold a 9.00 ERA in the first inning and then he settles into a groove after that. Kotsay may structure his lineup in such a way to attack Gilbert early on Wednesday.

Game One in Texas: Nathan Eovaldi

The A's lost last week 8-1 to Nathan Eovaldi, where he pitched seven innings, struck out seven, and gave up zero runs. Butler was hitless against Eovaldi, but eventually hit a solo home run late against a Rangers reliever.

Eovaldi throws a wide variety of pitches, but it mainly consists of a split-finger, cutter, and curveball to lefties. Butler is 2-for-11 vs. Eovaldi in his career, with a double and two walks. Given that Butler has already went against Eovaldi just last week, maybe there is some revenge in store.

Game Two in Texas: MacKenzie Gore

This could be a game that Butler gets a rest day, as he did last week before pinch hitting late in the game. MacKenzie Gore is similar to Gilbert in the sense that his advanced metrics tell a different story than his surface level stats.

At Globe Life Field this season, Gore holds a 2.45 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 11 innings. This will be a tall task for not only Butler but the A's lineup as well. The A's won 2-1 last week when they faced Gore, who only really throws three pitches to lefties: slider, 4-seam, and a sinker.

Game Three in Texas: Kumar Rocker

Kumar Rocker is slider, sinker, and changeup heavy when facing left-handed hitters. He tends to throw those pitches on the lower inner half of the plate against lefties, which could benefit Butler. Rocker has had a rocky start to the season, no pun intended, but struck out six in 4 2/3 innings against the A's last week.

Butler is 2-for-7 against Rocker with a home run and two strikeouts. If he is given a day off against Gore the game before, the hope would be that a rested and recharged Butler can rake against Rocker.

The next six games are challenging for Lawrence Butler and the A's. The lineup needs Butler to get going and show more of what he did in the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025.

If the advanced metrics are right, Butler is on the cusp of turning things around, but he'll be facing some stiff competition in the coming week. The question is when will that turnaround happen, and will it be on this road trip against tough pitching?