Lawrence Butler Swinging His Way to Success
A common strategy for hitters is to wait for their pitch. In the two games he's started since being recalled by the Oakland A's, Lawrence Butler has taken one pitch in the strike zone along with a handful of balls, and swung at the rest. Of the 23 pitches he's seen in these two games, he has swung the bat 17 times.
Butler is one of the players that can take this approach and have success. His 11.6% walk rate is among the best in baseball, showing that he has a good command of the strike zone. Of the six balls he's connected with in those two games, only one had an exit velocity below 91 miles per hour, and three of them were at 104 mph or above. He's swinging often, and he's making loud contact just as often.
When asked whether this was his new approach or just a plan of attack against the Royals, Butler smiled and said, "They're throwin' it in the zone." Knowing the zone and hitting the ball hard when he swings the stick certainly help. "You get that first pitch in the zone, you might as well go for it. If you feel like you can drive it, you might as well swing. It helps me with contact."
While Butler has been among the best in the league in drawing walks, his strikeout (28.7%) and whiff rates (31.5%) rank among the worst. Attacking strikes that he feels he can drive is one approach he's taking to help limit the strikeouts.
He also says that being able to control the zone, along with his 85th percentile bat speed give him the tools he needs to still have success with two strikes. On Thursday Butler didn't have a ball called on him. Of the ten pitches he saw, he took one, whiffed on another, fouled off five, and put three in play. He was never ahead in the count, and managed to go 1-for-4 with a double that left the bat at 108.9 mph, and a groundout at 105.7 mph. He also reached base on a 91.1 mph grounder that was booted and ruled an error.
The grounder that resulted in an out had an expected batting average of .300, and the one he reached on via error had a .420. Obviously it's only the balls that go for hits that will be remembered, but A's manager Mark Kotsay talked earlier this week about how to measure success, and what that looks like to him.
"It's no secret that the wins and losses will always be attached to me, but the success of those young players will also be attached to me. That's where the real joy and the reward comes from. Really watching these guys become big leaguers in front of your eyes."
For Kotsay, it's about the process and seeing his young guys take those steps that solidify them as big leaguers. When it comes to Butler's approach since he was called up, the manager says that in-zone swings are good.
"You'd rather have a hitter that's aggressive swinging at strikes than taking strikes and getting behind in the count."
Butler is still finding his way in the big leagues, but it's hard to argue with the approach when he's hitting missiles.
JASON BURKE
Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.