Lawrence Evan Butler was originally signed by A’s scout Jemel Spearman…Graduated from West Lake High School in Atlanta in 2018, where he hit .507 as a senior.
2024
Got off to a slow start as he was batting .179 with two home runs, eight RBI and a .529 OPS over his first 52 games through the end of June…Then hit .302 with 20 home runs, 49 RBI and a .943 OPS in 73 games over the final three months of the season...Tied for sixth in the Majors in extra-base hits from July 1 through the end of the season (40), ranked eighth in slugging (.597), tied for ninth in home runs and runs (53), 10th in OPS and tied for 15th in RBI...Batted .262 with 22 home runs, 57 RBI and an .807 OPS in 125 games overall in his second season...Was a perfect 18-for-18 in stolen base attempts…His stolen bases were the most in the Majors and tied for seventh-most in MLB history among players with no caught stealings…They were the most by an Athletic, topping the previous best of 16 by Jimmy Sexton in 1982...Had a .291 (25-for-86) batting average and .838 OPS against left-handed pitchers compared to .255 (83-for-326) and a .799 OPS against right-handers…Drew 32 of his 35 walks against righties…Made 88 of his 105 starts against righties...Batted .292 with runners in scoring position…Was 2-for-5 (.400) with two doubles, a walk and nine RBI with the bases loaded...Hit 15 of his 22 home runs on the road and had a .545 slugging percentage in away games compared to .439 at home...Had 13 home runs and 26 RBI in 35 interleague games, nine home runs and 31 RBI in 90 games against American League competition…Tied for fifth in the Majors in interleague home runs…Has hit 14 of his 26 career home runs against the National League...Tied for fifth among Major League right fielders in home runs (20) and ranked sixth in RBI (53)...Started 105 games, all in right field…Appeared in 123 games overall in the outfield (including two in center field) and committed four errors for a .985 fielding percentage…Had two assists…Ranked fifth in the Majors among right fielders in total chances (257) and putouts (251) and tied for fourth in most errors (four)...Was 2-for-8 (.250) with two home runs, four RBI and two walks as a pinch hitter…Tied for second in the majors in pinch home runs...Made a team-leading 62 starts batting leadoff and hit .286 with 16 home runs, 37 RBI and an .889 OPS in 65 games overall hitting first in the order…Tied for ninth in the Majors in home runs from the one spot in the order, and his OPS was sixth-best among players with 250 or more plate appearances in the leadoff spot…Started games at every spot in the order except second and third...Batted .393 in the third inning and .394 in the fourth…Hit .189 in the seventh inning or later...Also played in 27 games for Triple-A Las Vegas and hit .255 with four home runs, nine RBI and a .767 OPS...Was 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts and is now 74-for-88 (84.1%) in his career as a Minor Leaguer...Hit .379 (11-for-29) with a 1.134 OPS against left-handed pitchers, .210 (17-for-81) with a .627 OPS against right-handers...Made 23 starts in center field, three in left field and one in right field.
2023
Made his Double-A, Triple-A and Major League debuts in 2023…started the year at Double-A Midland, was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas July 14 and joined Oakland on Aug. 11…also played in the All-Star Futures Game...Hit .211 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in 42 games with the A’s...Walked just four times and had 35 strikeouts...Batted .216 (22-for-102) with all four of his home runs, all 10 of his RBIs and a .616 OPS against right-handed pitchers…was 4-for-21 (.190) with a .418 OPS against left-handers…made 31 of his 33 starts in games in which the opponent started a right-handed pitcher...Hit .174 with the bases empty, .259 with three of his four home runs with runners on base…however, had a .138 average with runners in scoring position...Slugged three home runs in 16 day games, one in 26 night games...Batted .185 over innings 1-6, .262 from the seventh inning on...Hit .267 in interleague play, .194 against the American League...Made 32 of his 33 starts in center field (also had one start in right field)…did not commit an error in 42 games and 83 total chances overall as an outfielder…had one assist...Was 0-for-5 as a pinch hitter...Made 31 of his 33 starts in the bottom four spots in the order (had two starts batting leadoff)…Combined to hit a Minor League career-high .284 with 15 home runs, 70 RBIs and a .825 OPS in 89 games with Midland and Las Vegas...Was 21-for-23 (91.3%) in stolen base attempts…it was his third 20-steal season as a minor leaguer...Ranked sixth in the A’s farm system in slugging (.475), seventh in batting and eighth in RBI...Batted .297 (78-for-263) with 14 of his 15 home runs and a .904 OPS against right-handed pitchers, .252 (26-for-103) with a .618 OPS against left-handers...Hit .307 with runners in scoring position…was 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles and 12 RBIs with the bases loaded...Started 42 games in center field, 28 in right field, 14 at designated hitter, three at first base and one in left field…did not commit an error…had eight outfield assists…seven of those came with Midland, which tied for seventh among Texas League outfielders…tied for third among TL outfielders in double plays (3)…Started games at every spot in the order except fourth and fifth and saw his most action with 55 starts in the two spot in the order...Was named an A’s Organization All-Star by MLB.com following the season.
2022
Batted .270 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI and an .825 OPS in 81 games with High-A Lansing…also went 1-for-9 on a three-game rehab assignment with the A’s affiliate in the Arizona Complex League for a .265 batting average overall...Was 13-for-18 (72.2%) in stolen base attempts and tied for seventh in the A’s farm system in steals...Had 11 outfield assists, all with Lansing, which were the most among Midwest League outfielders...Batted .287 (63-for-219) with a .866 OPS against right-handed pitchers compared to .205 (17- for-83) with a .636 OPS against left-handers...Hit .295 during the day, .154 at night...Had a .120 batting average with two strikes and a .468 batting average with no strikes...Started 40 games in right field, 13 in center field, 13 at designated hitter, 11 at first base and five in left field…committed four errors, one at each defensive position...Hit in every spot in the order except eighth and ninth…hit .340 in 30 games batting fifth…also had 30 games batting second...Was rated as the A’s ninth-best prospect by Baseball America following the season...DAY-BY-DAY: Got off to a slow start as he was 7-for-53 (.132) with no extra bases hits and four RBI over his first 16 games through the first game of an April 30 doubleheader at Lake County…however, walked 16 times over that span for a .333 on-base percentage…then went 20- for-70 (.286) with six doubles, four home runs and 17 RBI over his next 18 contests through May 21…homered and drove in a season-high four runs on May 6 against West Michigan…went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts on May 22 at Great Lakes to start an 11-game stretch where he was 8-for-38 (.211)…had six assists in 17 games as an outfielder in the month of May… had a season-high ten-game hitting streak from June 5 to 16…went 14-for-38 (.367) with four doubles, two triples, a home run and five RBI during the streak…had his second four-strikeout game of the season on June 19 against Fort Wayne…hit .400 over an eight-game stretch from June 23 to July 3 and all 12 of his hits over that span came in four three-hit games…batted .316 in 26 games in June…was hitting .263 with eight home runs and 36 RBI in 69 games when he was placed on the injured list July 5 with a dislocated left elbow…went 1-for-9 (.111) on a three-game rehab assignment with the A’s affiliate in the Arizona Complex League from Aug. 20-23 and was reinstated from the IL on Aug. 25…hit .310 with four doubles, three home runs and five RBI over his final 12 games…finished the season by going 4-for-4 with four runs, a double, two home runs and four RBI on Sept. 10 against Dayton…had career highs in runs and matched his career high in hits (3rd time) and home runs (3rd time) while equaling his season high in RBI…played for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League following the season and batted .241 with two home runs, 16 RBI and 15 walks in 19 games (.389 on-base percentage)… was named to the AFL Rising Stars Game and went 1-for-2 with a double…was also named the winner of the Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award, which honors a player that exemplifies unselfishness, hard work and leadership.
2021
Spent most of the season at Single-A Stockton where he hit .263 with 17 home runs, 67 RBI and 26 stolen bases in 88 games…was promoted to High-A Lansing on Aug. 23 and batted .340 with two home runs and eight RBI in 14 games with the Lugnuts…combined for a .273 average, 19 home runs, 75 RBI, 29 stolen bases and an .871 OPS in 102 games overall…had career highs in every category…ranked second in the A’s farm system in slugging (.504), OPS, runs (76), doubles (24), walks (59), stolen bases, extra base hits (47) and total bases (194), third in RBI, fourth in hits (105) and home runs, sixth in on-base percentage (.367), tied for sixth in triples (4) and eighth in batting…was named an A’s Organizational All-Star by MiLB.com…tied for third in the Low-A West in home runs (17), ranked sixth in slugging (.499), seventh in OPS (.863), tied for seventh in extra base hits (41), ninth in RBI (67) and walks (55) and tied for ninth in stolen bases (26)…batted .276 with an .885 OPS against right-handed pitchers, .263 with an .827 OPS against left-handers…hit 10 of his 19 home runs with runners on base…was 5-for-9 (.556) with three home runs and 21 RBI with the bases loaded…the three grand slams tied for the most in the minors and all came against San Jose…had a .207 batting average and 11 of his 19 home runs with two strikes…started 52 games at first base, 24 in left field, 12 in center field, eight in right field and six at designated hitter…made four errors as a first baseman and three as an outfielder…had five outfield assists…hit in each of the first five spots in the order, including 32 games batting fifth and 27 hitting leadoff…walked a career-high four times and stole three bases in the second game of the season on May 5 at Modesto…had an 18-game reaching base streak from May 12-June 4…hit .250 with a .353 on-base percentage during the streak…had his first career two-homer game on May 21 at Visalia…was successful in each of his nine stolen base attempts in May…hit his first of three grand slams on June 10 against San Jose…was named Low-A West Player of the Week for the week of July 19-25 when he went 10-for-25 (.400) with six runs, a double, three home runs and 11 RBI in six games at San Jose…had grand slams on the 21st and 23rd…had his second career two-homer game and a career-high six RBI in the game on the 21st… was a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI Aug. 7 against Modesto…it was his second career four-hit game…stole a career-high four bases Aug. 19 at Modesto…was promoted to High-A Lansing on Aug. 23 and combined with Stockton and the Lugnuts to hit .304 in August…then batted .340 in 14 games in September…was named High-A Central Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 13- 19 when he went 11-for-22 (.500) with seven runs, three doubles, a home run, two RBI and three stolen bases in six games against West Michigan.
2020
Did not play as the minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic.
