Sound familiar? Butler, Rooker continue dominant month

ANAHEIM -- Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker are making serious cases for winning AL Player of the Month in July.

On Thursday, we once again saw the A’s top hitters leading the charge in Oakland’s 6-5 win over the Angels. Butler and Rooker wasted no time getting the A’s started with early fireworks in the first inning.

Leading off the game, Butler doubled the opposite way after falling behind 0-2. He then proceeded to steal third and come around to score on a throwing error from Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe. Two innings later, Butler crushed a 413-foot, two-run home run to center field. Butler’s excellent effort came just two days after the A’s outfielder finished a single shy of the cycle.

“I have to give this my top month ever in life. This is for sure. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had playing baseball,” Butler said. “My team is just playing great behind me. We’re playing great defense. Pitching has been great. Everyone is clicking on offense.”

Butler entered Thursday’s game with 1.9 Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs’ version) in July, second only to Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. 's 2.1 fWAR. Butler’s 291 wRC+ was tops among players with at least 50 plate appearances this month prior to Thursday, while his 1.408 OPS only trailed Witt. After struggling as a 22-year-old rookie in 2023, Butler has blossomed into a genuinely great building block for the A’s.

“I’m just trying to simplify things and not do too much at the plate,” Butler said about what’s led to this incredible month. “Just get good pitches to hit and have good at-bats, especially in the leadoff spot to set the tone for the team.”

Butler’s transformation into a legitimately good leadoff hitter has helped set the tone for an Oakland offense that leads the Majors with 129 runs in July.

“He’s really led the offense. He’s having a phenomenal month,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said about Butler. “To come out of the gate tonight against a lefty to double down the line, steal third and single handedly score the first run by himself is a pretty impressive start.”

Shortly after Butler scored the game’s first run, Rooker eviscerated a 435-foot home run that cleared both bullpens beyond the left-field wall at Angel Stadium. Rooker’s 24th home run of the season and his ninth in the month of July left his bat at a scalding 111.0 mph. Rooker has 11 home runs with a 110-plus mph exit velocity this season, the fifth-most in the Majors behind Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.

“I think it’s a combination of my swing being in a good place and swinging at good pitches,” Rooker said about his consistent hard contact this season. “It sounds simple but that’s the goal every time I go up there. I’ve been able to do that fairly consistently this year and that’s led to good results.”

While Butler looks like a clear player to build around, the A’s will have a much tougher decision to make in the coming days before the July 30 Trade Deadline about Rooker, who has produced like one of baseball’s best hitters this season. After becoming a first-time All-Star in his first year in Oakland last year -- thanks to his .817 OPS and 30 home runs -- Rooker has taken his game to an even higher level this season.

Rooker entered play on Thursday with a .943 OPS that was only bested by eight qualified hitters and fared even better with a 166 wRC+ that trails only five hitters. The 29-year-old Rooker is widely viewed as one of the best trade candidates, if the A’s indeed make him available. Rooker, however, still has three years of control beyond this season and can absolutely be a part of the A’s roster beyond 2024.

Thursday also marked the return of Ross Stripling, who made his first start since May 24 after spending two months on the injured list with a right elbow strain. The veteran right-hander had a disastrous second inning when he allowed five runs, but Stripling admirably bounced back and pitched 5 2/3 innings.

“It feels great. I was noticeably rusty to start -- at one point I had more balls than strikes well into the game -- which is not my game,” Stripling said. “Thankfully I was able to get out of that second inning and thankfully they let me stay in there and figure some stuff out, throw up some zeroes, get deep into the game and save the bullpen a little bit.”