The last year and a half of baseball has been tough for Lawrence Butler.
Since the start of 2025, Butler has been one of the worst-qualified hitters in MLB, posting a 90 wRC+ in that span. But the Athletics right fielder might be turning a corner, recently logging his best stretch at the plate since he broke out in 2024.
Lawrence Butler Heating Up Since All-Star Break
In 28 games since the All-Star break, Butler is slashing .242/.304/.505, good for an .812 OPS. His six home runs in that span are more than the five homers Butler clubbed in the first half, and he has drilled four of them in his last five games. And the most compelling component is that Butler’s two most recent shots have come against southpaws.
The 26-year-old’s production versus right-handed pitchers has notably declined over the last few seasons, yet his inability to be effective against fellow lefties has pigeonholed Butler as a platoon candidate for the Athletics. Before he homered against a lefty again on Sunday, Butler was hitting just .186 with a .588 OPS in 99 left-on-left matchups. But if he can stack more competitive at-bats against left-handers, he can revert to being a dangerous bat in the A’s lineup.
During his first full season, Butler accumulated 3.1 fWAR in 125 games after hitting .262 with 22 homers, 57 runs batted in, and 18 stolen bases. He logged a 130 OPS+ at 23 years old, leading the Athletics to extend the Atlanta, GA., native on a seven-year, $65.5 million contract during the ensuing Spring Training.
Always having some swing-and-miss in his game, Butler’s success was predicated on how much he could offset that trait with his slugging. And during 2025, he posted bottom-10 percentile strikeout and whiff rates, while not hitting the ball with the same authority when he did make contact. When that year wrapped up, he was only six points below league average hitting-wise, but it was still a steep drop-off from where Butler was the year prior.
Butler has never really had a chase problem, so making more contact on pitches in-zone will do wonders. Even in the midst of his struggles, he has sported above-average walk rates, showing it was never a discipline issue, but a mechanics problem.
Overall, Butler has a groundball rate near 50% in 2026 while pulling the fewest fly balls in his four-year career. That is an equation for capped success, but his numbers over the last month display his recent improvement in those areas. All of his second-half blasts have been hit to either right or center field, boding well for Butler because of where he plays his home games. Sutter Health Park in Sacramento has a 129 park factor for home runs, making it the most suitable ballpark for hitting homers in baseball.
Having the second-worst record in the sport at 49-75, the Athletics don’t have a lot to play for in the final month and a half of the regular season. But they do have an assortment of quality major league hitters at this stage of their rebuild, and if Butler continues to swing a hot bat, he could reestablish himself in that group.
