Just a week into spring training, A’s flashy outfielder Lawrence Butler is doing it again. He’s hitting, hustling and making things difficult for the team’s decision-makers, just like last spring.
Butler sits atop the team’s batting leaders with a .455 average after getting a pair of hits, including a double, in Oakland’s 5-3 loss to San Diego in Mesa, Ariz. on Thursday.
The loss snapped the A’s modest three-game winning streak. Oakland fans may recall the A’s only had one winning streak longer than three games last season.
A year ago, Butler turned heads as a 22-year-old from Single-A in his first big-league camp by leading the team with a robust slash line of .478/.556/.870 in 12 games. The A’s decided to fast-track Butler last season, moving him from Double-A, Triple-A and, finally, on Aug. 11, to the big leagues.
Butler’s numbers in Oakland were pretty pedestrian – he hit .211 with four homers in 42 games – but he made enough of an impression to believe he’s got a shot to break camp with the A’s later this month. Butler is in competition with six others, including All-Star Brent Rooker, Esteury Ruiz, J.J. Bleday, Seth Brown and minor league free-agents Miguel Andujar and Hoy Park, for probably five roster spots.
Should Butler continue hitting, though, it’s a safe bet he’ll spend a lot of time with a club looking to break away from last year’s 112-loss season.
The A’s got another strong outing from hard-throwing starter Joe Boyle, who routinely threw 98 mph Thursday during his 3 1/3 innings. Boyle faced the minimum through three innings without permitting a run before allowing two runs (one earned) in the fourth inning.
A’s second baseman Zack Gelof, who is quickly establishing himself as the team’s best player, homered for a second straight game.
Notable
— Former Giants left-hander Alex Wood will make his spring debut with Oakland Friday when he starts against Kansas City in Surprise. Wood, who signed a one-year, $8.5 million free-agent deal with the A’s, will be opposed by lefty Cole Ragans, the Royals’ breakout star last year.