3 A's players to watch in the back half of the 2024 season

Dylan Grausz | Jul 26, 2024

Jul 19, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Max Schuemann (12) reacts after hitting a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the fourth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Don’t let their record fool you, it has been an intriguing last few weeks of the season for the Oakland A’s. After enduring a two month stretch in May and June where they went 16-39, the team has since started to turn things around, putting together an 11-7 record in the month of July thus far, with series wins over the Astros, Angels (twice) and Phillies.

The run of success can be attributed to a variety of things, but it is the turnaround of a few players that not only has the motor running and the energy high, it also has them as players to watch for the rest of the season.

RF Lawrence Butler

At one point this season, there were questions as to why Butler was still on the major league roster, hitting a mere .179 heading into the month of July and only having eight RBI through the first three months of the season. But July has been a far different story for the 24-year-old. This month, Butler has improved his batting average from .179 to .253, hitting .417 in July while also evolving into a major contributor with RBI, slashing 24 of his 32 RBIs this month alone, including recording 13 over the last 10 days.

He also only had two home runs for the entire season and now has 10, with eight of them coming in July, including a three home run game against Philadelphia on July 14. Making his debut in August of 2023 but still classified as a rookie this year, it will be interesting to see how Butler finishes his first full season at the big league level.

SS Max Schuemann

When top prospect Jacob Wilson was promoted to the majors for the first time on July 19, the question then became what the team would do with the rookie Schuemann, who ended June with a .223 batting average after a month of struggles. But like the rest of the team, Schuemann struck gold in July, and after Wilson went down with an injury in his debut, has been able to more than pick up the slack, catapulting his season batting average to .260 with a month that has seen him hit .385 up this point, putting together a 3-for-4 game against the Angels in the first game back from the break the same night that Wilson got hurt.

With Wilson on the 10-day injured list and with a return that is still TBD, Schuemann will get plenty of opportunities to keep shining.

LHP Hogan Harris

A late addition to the team this season, beginning the 2024 campaign in Triple-A, Harris has become a solid option in the A’s rotation and especially this month, where he has a 2.45 ERA, he has been vital in the A’s wins as of late, dazzling in his latest start where he pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings en route to the A’s going home with a 4-0 win over the Astros.

Projected to have an ERA well over a 4.40, such as he was on Fantasy Pros, Harris has exceeded expectations in a massive way this year, currently having a 2.98 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. While having limited appearances so far, Harris has shown immense promise and is one to not only watch down the stretch, but could be an integral rotation piece for years to come.