Lawrence Butler announced his presence to the baseball world with a three-homer game against the best team in the Majors to close out the first half of the season and has continued his heater into Week 16, posting an average over .570 in his last seven games and earning the top spot on the #HighFive for the first time in his career.

 

1. Lawrence Butler

A subtle change to his batting stance has Lawrence Butler swinging one of the hottest bats in the Majors as July comes to a close.

 

Butler, who was named the American League Player of the Week for the first time in his career last week entered July with his season average below .180 but has since raised it .075 points thanks to a meeting with the A’s Director of Hitting where they focused on keeping his head movement to a minimum in order to see the ball longer.

 

Over his last seven games he has a slash line of .571/.636/1.286 with 13 RBI, four home runs and five walks.

 

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On Tuesday night Butler finished a single shy of the cycle in Oakland’s matchup against Houston.  He was up in the 8th with a chance to be the first Athletic to accomplish the feat since 2007, but he was walked much to the dismay of the hometown crowd.

 

2. Taj Bradley

Taj Bradley’s one-hit, seven inning shutout on the road in New York earned him the two spot on this weeks #HighFive list.

 

In my eyes last Saturday’s outing was the best of his career so far, but the same could be said for almost any start he has had since June 8th.

 

Bradley is 4-0 with an 0.82 ERA and a 51:16 strikeout to walk ratio over his last seven starts.  He entered Thursday only giving up one run in his three July starts.

 

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Bradley is the current front runner for the 2024 Bob Gibson MLBbro.com pitcher of the year award, the inaugural trophy was given to Brewers closer Devin Willams last year.

 

Bradley is scheduled to start Thursday afternoon in Toronto against George Springer and the Blue Jays.

 

3. Hunter Greene “Machine”

In his first start since playing in his first career All-Star Game, Hunter Greene delivered a masterful performance in the venue that will host MLB All-Star in 2025.

 

 

 

He threw seven shutout innings and gave up just two hits while striking out seven against the Braves.

 

That adds another strong start to the best month of his career. He has a 0.45 ERA, 24 strikeouts and only seven hits allowed in 20 innings pitched.

 

Greene’s final start of July will be Sunday against Tampa Bay.

 

4. “Black” Jack Flaherty

 

If Jack Flaherty’s start on Tuesday was his last in a Tiger uniform, he went out with a bang.

 

Black Jack’s name has been going around the MLB trade rumor mill since he signed a one-year deal with Detroit this off-season.

 

Now contenders such as the Dodgers, Astros, Braves, Yankees and even his former team the Cardinals are all trying for Flaherty’s services to help boost their rotations for the stretch run.

 

He threw six shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out six against the American League Central leading Guardians.

 

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Those six strikeouts bring his season total to 133 which is the fourth most in the American League and his 2.95 ERA also ranks him in the top 10 for A.L. pitchers.

 

5. Justyn-Henry Malloy “JHM”

Justyn-Henry Malloy is getting more comfortable with each passing day in the Majors as he takes the final spot on our #HighFive list this week thanks to his current 17-game on-base streak.

 

He has hits in eight of his last nine games and hit homers on back-to-back days this week including a go-ahead grand slam (the first of his career) on Sunday.

 

“I knew the situation.  I knew we were down by a few runs and I wanted to pass the baton,” Malloy told reporters in his postgame press conference. 

 “I know with the bases loaded there is no place to put me so I just wanted to find a good pitch.  It was a really cool moment and I am glad to get the first out of the way.”

 

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Malloy and his Tigers continue a crucial stretch of 13 games against divisional opponents when they welcome the Twins to the Motor City this weekend.

 

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