Lawson's best season was 1937, when he compiled an 18–7 record for the Tigers. He had career highs that year with 18 wins, 217-1/3 innings pitched, and 29 games started. He ranked among the American League leaders in 1937 with 18 wins (third), a .720 winning percentage (sixth), and 15 complete games (tenth). In 1937, he also had a .259 batting average with five RBIs. He ranked 19th in the voting for the 1937 American League Most Valuable Player award. Sportswriter Clifford Bloodgood in "Baseball Magazine" described Lawson in 1937 as "a pitcher who has a variety of stuff, the most baffling of which perhaps is an excellent change of pace" and noted that Lawson's delivery of his change of pace pitch "masks his intentions completely."