Lawrence Butler’s start to 2025 has been rough enough to make last year feel distant. In 95 plate appearances this season, the 25-year-old is hitting.186/.263/.279 with a 47 wRC+, a sharp step down from the breakout he delivered in 2024.
Butler built that 2024 season on a 22-homer, 18-stolen-base line and a 130 wRC+, while trimming his strikeout rate to 23.9%. This year, that swing-and-miss has climbed again, to 26.3% in his first 95 plate appearances and 28.4% overall in 2025, while his wRC+ has fallen to 96.
The numbers matter because Butler is no longer a mystery bat. He showed real impact last year, and the question now is whether the version showing up in the box score is the same one the underlying skills still point toward. His bat speed remains a plus, and his plate discipline numbers still look more like the stronger 2024 season than the more troubled 2025 stretch.
There is also a reason to think the strikeouts may not stay this high. An 11.9% SwStr% suggests his strikeout rate could come down a few points, even if not all the way back to where it was during his best run. That does not erase the concern, though. His decreased fly ball percentage and pull air percentage are a somewhat disturbing trend, and those batted-ball changes are the sort of thing that can drag down power even when the bat still looks alive.
That is why the verdict here is patience, mostly. Butler’s 2024 season was good enough to show what he can be, and his current slump is severe enough to make the early-season line look real. The most likely outcome is something in between, closer to his 2024 and 2025 levels than either extreme, if he can get those batted-ball numbers back up. For now, the evidence says the talent is still there — but the production has to catch up.
