This story was excerpted from Mart¨ªn Gallegos¡¯ A¡¯s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SACRAMENTO -- Every morning at 10 a.m., a reminder flashes across Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler¡¯s phone screen.

The message reads: 2025 ASG in ATL.

That daily alarm makes Butler¡¯s ambitions for the upcoming season clear as day. Coming off a breakout 2024 campaign, the 24-year-old slugger aims to become an All-Star for the first time in his career.

¡°It¡¯s on my phone,¡± Butler told MLB.com last week at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento. ¡°Every day, 10 o¡¯clock, All-Star Game, ATL. No matter what, I¡¯m trying to get there.¡±

As if any extra motivation was needed, the 2025 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be taking place at Truist Park in Atlanta, which is only a short drive from home for Butler, a southwest Atlanta native.

Butler, a die-hard Braves fan growing up who even has a tattoo of the Braves¡¯ ¡®A¡¯ logo, has dreamed of his hometown debut since the day he was drafted by the A¡¯s in 2018 out of Westlake High School in Atlanta.

As soon as the 2024 regular-season schedule was released, Butler immediately circled May 31-June 2 on the calendar. It was a three-game series between the A¡¯s and Braves at Truist Park, setting up his first game in Atlanta as a big leaguer.

Unfortunately, things did not work out as planned. Butler was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on May 14 after a slow start to the season and did not return until June 18, missing the road trip to Atlanta.

The next time the A¡¯s visit Atlanta will be in 2026, so the quicker route for Butler to achieve his dream would be to make the Midsummer Classic this season.

¡°An All-Star Game,¡± Butler said. ¡°That¡¯ll be a dope first game back home.¡±

The last A¡¯s outfielder to make the All-Star Game was Yoenis C¨¦spedes in 2014. Could Butler be the next in line? His performance over the second half of last season certainly set high expectations for ¡®25. Adjusting his approach following the early-season demotion to Las Vegas, Butler slashed .302/.346/.597 (.943 OPS) over his final 73 games with 20 home runs, 18 doubles, two triples, 49 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

Continuing his offseason training out at ¡°The Hill¡± in Georgia, a facility set up on a large farm owned by former Braves outfielder Marquis Grissom, Butler is hard at work looking to fine-tune his game to reach the level necessary to turn his All-Star goal into a reality.

¡°Really just looking to take the momentum from the second half into the new year with me,¡± Butler said. ¡°I¡¯ve been focusing on every aspect of my game. I don¡¯t really like to single out one. I¡¯m just trying to get better in every aspect of my game to take my career to the next level. That¡¯s been my focus this offseason.¡±