Lawrence Butler
- The Athletics’ roster as it stands starts at RF · 523 PA · 1.4 WAR in the role
- Trade read Available at a price: ATH 27% playoff odds; control through 2032.
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 540 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 149 | .321 | .293 | 26% | 10% | 25% | +0.39 | +0.01 |
| RHP | 391 | .332 | .340 | 26% | 12% | 24% | +1.29 | −0.58 |
- Attack angle
- 5.9° (42% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- +3.6°
- Swing length
- 7.0 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 35%
- Pull-air %
- 11.9%
- Hard-hit %
- 45.1%
- Slash · wRC+
- .237/.326/.394 · 96
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage middle-in (+2.2 vs. league per 100; 1.0 standard errors on 101 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest down and in (−1.7), but only 0.8 standard errors from average on 113 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,042 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Butler: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | José Tena WSH · ’01 | .290 | −0.3 | 0.1 | — |
| 53 | Brandon Nimmo TEX · ’93 | .340 | 1.7 | 1.1 | Signed $20.5M |
| 51 | Brett Baty NYM · ’99 | .322 | 1.1 | 1.5 | Arb |
| 51 | Carter Jensen KC · ’03 | .319 | 3.7 | 3.3 | Pre-arb |
| 50 | Matt Chapman SF · ’93 | .289 | 1.3 | 1.8 | Signed $25.2M |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | CF | −7 | −6 | −0.4 | −6.4 | 926 |
| 2026 | RF | −4 | −3 | −1.7 | −4.7 | 4,099 |
| 2025 | CF | 0 | 0 | −0.7 | −0.7 | 1,880 |
| 2025 | RF | +4 | +3 | −1.2 | +1.8 | 3,473 |
| 2024 | CF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 19 |
| 2024 | RF | −1 | −1 | +0.4 | −0.6 | 4,100 |
| 2023 | RF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50 |
| 2023 | CF | 0 | 0 | +0.9 | +0.9 | 1,307 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At RF in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 3B line (−5 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among RFs)| Play | Made | Chances | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 0 | 25 | 0% |
| ★★★★ | 0 | 3 | 0% |
| ★★★ | 2 | 9 | 22% |
| ★★ | 11 | 17 | 65% |
| ★ | 23 | 25 | 92% |
| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | RF | 353 | −1.7 |
| 2026 | CF | 117 | −8.9 |
| 2025 | RF | 342 | +1.3 |
| 2025 | CF | 232 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | RF | 440 | +9.3 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant