Elephant Rumblings: Lawrence Butler hits first MLB home run

Happy Wednesday, Athletics Nation!

Welp, the A’s are on another frustrating skid. They’ve dropped their last five in a row, and will need to best the Cardinals today with Paul Blackburn on the mound to avoid a winless road trip.

What hasn’t been frustrating, though, has been watching top prospects Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler excel in their nascent MLB careers. Gelof is off to a historically good start with the A’s, and Butler is picking up steam in a hurry. Last night, Law hit his very first home run for the A’s off Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson.

This wasn’t a garden variety dinger that snuck over the wall. It was a no-doubter.

Recall that Butler’s first hit on Friday jumped off the bat at 109.2 mph and ricocheted off the wall for a double—so half of his hits so far have been positively smoked. He’s still only slashing .211/.211/.474 after 19 plate appearances, but consider that Butler’s BABIP is just .200 so far and his K rate is just 15.8%. That leaves a lot of room for optimism. Anyone who’s paying attention should already be seeing Butler as a threat at the plate.

Law told reporters that hitting his first big league home run felt “surreal,” and that he managed to get the ball back in trade from the fan who caught it.

Law is looking long-armed on defense, too. On Monday, he robbed Lars Nootbar of a hit and threw out Willson Contreras for his first outfield assist on the same play.

That’s a lot of pretty spectacular stuff for a rookie’s first five games in the bigs. Welcome to Oakland, Lawrence Butler! Getting to see talent like his makes all the A’s losing a bit more...tolerable.

A’s Coverage:

• Polito: Athletics drop another in St. Louis 6-2
• Willis: Athletics place JJ Bleday, Angel Felipe on injured list
• Stutz: A’s president: Ownership to fund ‘one of the largest equity contributions ever’ for Las Vegas stadium
• Gallegos: Gelof makes history in his young career
• MLB: Injuries & Moves: Pérez reinstated from IL
• Gallegos: Butler shines with stellar outfield assist and at the plate

MLB News & Interest:

• Adams: Rangers Sign Josh Harrison To Minor League Contract
• Johnson: Big Hype Prospects: Mayo, Encarnacion-Strand, Thorpe, Hampton, Caminero
• Stark: Joey Votto on his future: ‘My jackpot is winning a championship with the Reds’ ($)
• Franco: Shane McClanahan To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
• Hayes: How an ex-Twins farmhand created a baseball app with MLB star power ($)
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Save the A’s fundraiser today.

Roster moves:

Noda getting close.

Not looking so great for Bleday.

Amen, Melissa.

Prospects mashing in Lansing.

A new face at NBC Sports!

Yeah, not the greatest call.