Elephant Rumblings: Lawrence Butler doubles twice in debut series

Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!

True to his numbers, A’s top outfielder prospect Lawrence Butler dropped a double deuce in his first MLB series this weekend against the Nationals.

Overall, Law’s line of .167/.167/.333 for the series wasn’t overwhelmingly impressive, but the 23-year-old sixth round pick showed some promising pop and got those first big league hits on the board, an essential rite of passage that should boost Butler’s confidence at the plate.

Butler went 0-for-4 in his first game in green and gold on Friday, but got his first knock in the books on Saturday: a scorching, 109.2 mph off-the-wall double bagger.

Law doubled for a second time in the series in yesterday’s loss. It was a much softer shot into left field this time, but Butler committed early and got into second easily after Stone Garrett misplayed the ball in his haste to get a throw off. He showed similar hustle on Friday when he reached on a would-be double play that was mishandled by Dominic Smith.

Butler also flashed defensive promise in the series, most notably on a strong throw to third in an attempt to throw out Ildemaro Vargas that may have succeeded on a better bounce.

He may not have had a big game, but it was apparent over the weekend why Lawrence Butler is in the top five on all of our favorite prospect lists. Hopefully we’ll be seeing plenty more of him through the rest of this season.

A’s Coverage:

• Ashford: Athletics implode late, lose 8-7 to Nats
• Nico: Blogfather Prospect List: Analysis Meets Hunch
• Valentine: Gelof has game to remember in front of friends, family
• Dykstra: A deep dive into each team’s updated Top 30 Prospects list

MLB News & Interest:

• Ladson: Olson talks hitting, playing for hometown team, Freddie, more
• McDonald: Mid-August Trade Deadline Has Been Discussed By GMs
• Leitch: A new member of Power Rankings Top 5 surges all the way to No. 2
• Bollinger: Ohtani hits 41st HR despite arm fatigue pushing back start
• Clair: Meet the 16-year-old at the heart of USA’s Women’s World Cup lineup
• Polishuk: AL West Notes: Brantley, Heim, Ohtani
• Toribio: ‘Back on track’: Urías K’s 12 to push Dodgers to 8th straight win
• Polishuk: MLB Looking Into Social Media Posts Regarding Wander Franco
• Polishuk: NL West Notes: Diamondbacks, Yaz, Haniger, Luciano, Profar
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Youngest team in MLB.

Estes leads MiLB K leaders.

A gaggle of giddy Gelofs.

The A’s closer does not lack a funny bone.

HBD young Jordan!

Lordy, lordy. Look who’s forty.