Lawrence Butler Should Win AL Player of the Month

Lawrence Butler has been the best player in the month of July and he should be awarded as such.

Jul 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oakland Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler (4) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Lawrence Butler has arguably been the best player in baseball since the start of July, let alone the American League. Back on July 15th, he was awarded AL Player of the Week after hitting five home runs and driving in 13 runs in a seven day stretch. Not to mention, Butler has been a plus defender in right field, making absurd throws and catches all month long.

You can’t run from The Law. pic.twitter.com/BPCP85C5PE

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 24, 2024

Butler started the year off slow and eventually found himself getting sent back to Triple-A Las Vegas in May. He was making hard contact and was routinely finding himself having hard exit velocities, but they weren't resulting in hits. After he was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas in June, he started to show some signs of progression. However, it wasn't until A's bench coach, Darren Bush, helped Butler change his approach at the end of June.

Mark Kotsay and Darren Bush have both spoken highly of the young outfielder and since the change, no one has been able to stop Butler. He has been nothing short of remarkable during his breakout and is a big reason why the A's clinched their first winning month in two years.

In 23 games this month, Butler sports a .379/.426/.839 slash line giving him a 1.265 OPS and ten home runs to go with it. He has driven in 27 runs and has nearly as many extra base hits (18) as he has strikeouts (19). Coming into July, Butler had a .179 batting average and now he is batting .258 batting, after hitting .379 in July with one game to go.

The Law has launched 4,073 feet worth of home runs in the month of July, recording triple digit exit velocities very often. Butler has more multi-hit games (12) than he has games with one hit or less (11) this month.

Unfortunately, one player may steal the award from Butler and that player is Bobby Witt Jr. Witt has been very impressive this month, but what he is doing is what he has been doing all year. Butler is in the middle of a breakout month and achieving feats like hitting three home runs against the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies. Both players are deserving, yes, but Butler has taken his game to another level this month. Witt also plays for a team in the middle of the postseason hunt.

Not 1️⃣
Not 2️⃣
But 3️⃣ Lawrence Butler home runs today pic.twitter.com/wtAh9zDXay

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 14, 2024

Butler has emerged as one of the better players in baseball, surging the A's to an MLB-leading 45 home runs hit since the start of the month. He is more than deserving for the AL Player of the Month award. Anything else would be against The Law.