Jurickson Profar putting together strong May for A's after slow start

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Jurickson Profar's struggles this season have been well-documented.
 
Through the month of April, Profar was hitting .179 with just two home runs. Somehow he was even worse defensively, committing seven errors in the first month of the season, the most of any second baseman in the majors.
 
But when the calendar flipped to May, the A's have seen a new Jurickson Profar. The 26-year-old has finally started to look like the player he was last season with the Rangers when he tallied a career-high 20 home runs and 77 RBI.
 
Since May 1, Profar is batting .262 with four homers and 12 RBI, raising his season average above .200 for the first time since the third game of the season. He has also improved defensively, committing just one error while making several excellent plays to help the A's pitching staff.
 
"Jurickson's been swinging it well," A's manager Bob Melvin told reporters after Monday's 6-4 win in Cleveland. "We moved him up in the lineup tonight to fifth and he responds right away with the home run."
 
It was Profar's sixth round-tripper of the season and it gave the A's an early 1-0 lead. He would follow with a solid single his next at-bat.
 
For the season, Profar is still slashing just .201/.263/.354, but his power numbers are similar to last year's. With six home runs and 25 RBI, he is on pace for 20 and 84 to surpass last season's production.

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Profar has also proven adept at batting in multiple spots in the lineup. He has already hit second, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth in the order, giving Melvin plenty of options.
 
Profar has provided a major boost to the A's offensive production over the last few weeks. If he can continue to produce from the bottom half of the lineup, Oakland should be in great shape for the rest of the season.

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