What to Expect From Lawrence Butler in Oakland

Last year around this time Lawrence Butler was still recovering from an injury he'd sustained on Independence Day with the High-A Lansing Lugnuts. He returned from that dislocated elbow on August 20, 2022. Not quite a year later he will have made such an impression on the A's organization that he's set to make his Major League debut on Friday.

The 23-year-old was selected by the A's in the sixth round of the 2018 Draft out of Westlake HS in Atlanta. 

You can point to the stats which include a .284 batting average, .350 on-base percentage (OBP), 15 homers and 21 steals between Double-A and Triple-A this season, and make a pretty good case for Butler to be on the 26-man roster. For those that saw him play during Spring Training, his arrival was destined. 

Martín Gallegos of MLB.com wrote about Butler deeming himself and the up-and-coming prospects "The New Oakland" during the spring. Things have obviously changed a bit for the franchise since he said those words, but the meaning behind them still rings true. This young group of players that has been going through the system and is starting to reach the big leagues are an exciting bunch to watch on a daily basis.

But the one stat that people aren't pointing to terribly often is arguably why he has risen up the ranks so quickly: his strikeout rate. 

Last season Butler struck out 31.5% of the time in Lansing, which is a bit too high. He was added to the Arizona Fall League as a member of the Mesa Solar Sox where he played another 19 games after missing some time earlier in the season. This is where we really started to see Butler turn a corner with his strikeouts. In 72 plate appearances he struck out 15 times, which comes out to a 20.8% strikeout rate. This was also coming in a league filled with some of the top prospects in baseball.

Butler also walked 15 times in his time in the Fall League. His approach at the plate had turned a corner. 

Flash forward to this season and that strikeout rate has stayed below 20% in both Midland and Las Vegas. His walk rate hasn't quite kept up with the small sample from last fall, but he's still been drawing free passes at a 9.2% clip which is a little higher than the A's team walk percentage of 8.8% this season. 

In 22 games with the Las Vegas Aviators Butler has smashed five homers, stolen eight bases, and driven in 23 runs. FanGraphs has him ranked as the A's number four prospect, but they also have him listed as a first baseman, a position he has played just three times this season and one that he has moved away from since the 2021 campaign. The outfielder played predominantly center field in Midland, and right field in his limited time in Las Vegas. He will be starting in right field and batting eighth in his big-league debut. 

Tony Kemp was placed on the paternity list to make room on the A's roster for Butler.