The Road to The Show™: Lawrence Butler

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at No. 10 A’s prospect Lawrence Butler. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

Few prospects have boosted their stock in the past six months like Lawrence Butler. And that may wind up proving to be career-altering for Oakland’s No. 10 prospect.

Butler had something to prove after a dislocated elbow limited the followup to his 2021 breakout. He performed well in 84 regular-season games with High-A Lansing, batting .270 with an .825 OPS and 11 homers. But it was his Arizona Fall League output that brought him into the spotlight, and his Cactus League production and power-speed skill set makes him one of the Minors most exciting players to follow.

“He’s fun,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com in February. “He’s got the tools. It’s taken him a little while to put it together. Any time you’re a high school guy, it takes a little while to get acclimated. He’s big, physical and mature now. He’s got the tools to play [against big leaguers].”

The Atlanta-raised Butler grew up in the game through the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association. As an amateur prospect, Butler stood out on a stacked travel ball roster that included Taj Bradley and Michael Harris II and was even named a Rawlings-Perfect Game All-American Honorable Mention.

The A’s drafted Butler in the sixth round in 2018 and signed him for an above-slot $285,000 bonus. At the time, he was viewed as a power-over-hit first baseman with the potential to eventually move to a corner outfield spot.

Butler’s two years in short-season ball made for a difficult start to his professional career. He stayed with the A’s Rookie-level Arizona League club after the Draft and his struggles got worse the next season with Vermont. Over those two seasons, Butler had 18 total extra-base hits, five of which were homers, and 37 RBIs in nearly 300 at-bats.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound slugger returned home to Atlanta and took advantage of the talent in his backyard during the lost 2020 season. He worked with other pro ballplayers in the area, of which there are plenty, to retool his body and swing. And it seemed to pay off in 2021.

Butler spent the bulk of the season with Single-A Stockton before a very strong finish in Lansing. He didn’t exactly come out of the gate strong with the Ports, but began to figure things out at the end of May before really hitting his stride in July. A two-homer game in Visalia on May 21 jump-started a stretch in which he batted .280 with a .901 OPS over his final 77 games in Stockton before his promotion to the Lugnuts in August.

“A breakout year. He’s always been that raw, toolsy high school kid that you’re banking on the tools to come,” Ed Sprague, Oakland’s director of player development told MiLB.com that offseason. “He’s got some sneaky speed. He’s always had the power; it was just a matter of cutting down the swing-and-miss and letting him get to that power.”

Congratulations to Lawrence Butler of the Oakland Athletics on being this season’s 2022 Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award winner!

Butler became one of the most beloved players in the AFL through his selfless qualities and endearing personality! #AFL22 pic.twitter.com/usbeArRBt4

— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) November 13, 2022

In his return to the Midwest League last season, Butler again stumbled out of the gate after a bout with Osgood-Schlatter disease in his knees limited him in Spring Training. He collected seven hits through his first 16 games, but rebounded down the stretch before hitting the injured list.

Butler missed about six weeks with the elbow injury but didn’t miss a beat upon his return to Lansing in August and was able to enter the AFL with some momentum.

In addition to the incredible numbers, Butler’s AFL success was measured by a couple personal benchmarks. He aimed to reduce his strikeout rate, which was nearly 32 percent in the regular season, and only whiffed 15 times in 72 plate appearances (20.8 percent). He also played exclusively in the outfield as he continued to expand his profile beyond his natural position at first base.

For his efforts and sparkling personality, Butler earned the Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award. He also picked up a spot on the A's 40-man roster, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft, and followed that up with a monster spring in which he collected 11 hits in 23 at-bats (.478).

The A’s are in the early stages of a rebuild with a lot riding on their prospect development. This time two years ago, Butler seemed to be a long shot to crack the Majors. But as he prepares for Opening Day with Double-A Midland, he’s put himself in a position where his call to The Show seems not only possible, but inevitable.