Jonathan Lucroy
From BR Bullpen
Jonathan Charles Lucroy
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6', Weight 195 lb.
- School University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- High School Umatilla High School
- Debut May 21, 2010
- Born June 13, 1986 in Eustis, FL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Jonathan Lucroy debuted in the majors at age 23.
Lucroy had an impressive high school career. As a freshman, he was honorable mention for the state of Florida. He made All-State as a junior, then hit .450 with 10 homers as a senior, finishing with the school record of 20 home runs. He jumped right in during his freshman year of college too, hitting a team-high .379 with a .427 OBP and .544 slugging percentage, driving in 48 in 54 games and making no errors afield. He made second-team All-Sun Belt Conference (finishing 5th in the conference in average) and was named a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger. Baseball America chose J.P. Arencibia instead in that role.
In 2006, Jonathan batted .333/.390/.610 with less contact but more pop - he had 50 runs and 68 RBI in 59 games as well. He was 44th in NCAA Division I in RBI. As a junior, Lucroy hit .360/.408/.659 with 18 home runs, 58 runs and 68 RBI in 62 games to lead his club in average, slugging, homers and RBI. He made first team All-Conference at catcher and finished among the school single season leaders for total bases (174, a new record), hits (95, 2nd) and homers (3rd). He finished as the school's all-time leader in RBI (184), total bases (414) and doubles (54), second in hits (241), third in slugging (.612) and homers (35) and 4th in average (.356).
The Milwaukee Brewers picked Lucroy in the 3rd round of the 2007 amateur draft; he was their second overall pick after Matt LaPorta as they had only one first-round pick and no second-rounders that year. He was signed by scout Brian Sankey and made his pro debut that summer. Just as he did very well as a freshman at both high school and college, Lucroy quickly adapted to the pros, hitting .342/.383/.487 for the Helena Brewers. He was 6th in the Pioneer League in average and tied for the most double plays by a catcher, four. Lucroy was named the All-Star catcher in the league. Baseball America rated him the #6 prospect in the loop, right behind Aaron Poreda and Brandon Waring. Sent to the North Shore Honu that winter, he hit .299 to place 9th in the Hawaiian Winter League in average. Baseball America rated him the league's #19 prospect, right behind Lucas Duda.
The Floridian split 2008 between the West Virginia Power (.310/.391/.510) and Brevard County Manatees (.292/.364/.479) with a total of 76 runs, 20 home runs and 77 RBI. He also stole 9 bases in 12 tries. Baseball America ranked him as Milwaukee's #10 prospect entering 2009.
With the 2009 Huntsville Stars, Lucroy had a batting line of .267/.380/.418. He had 78 walks to 66 strikeouts and led Brewers farmhands in walks. He also smacked 32 doubles. He led Southern League backstops in putouts (727) and assists (70). Baseball America rated him as the #13 prospect in the SL, between Todd Frazier and Chris Heisey. That fall, he hit .310 for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. Baseball America listed him as Milwaukee's #5 prospect going into 2010.
Lucroy quickly rose up the chain in 2010 - after .452/.500/.524 in 10 games for Huntsville and .238/.265/.363 in 21 for the Nashville Sounds, he got called up to The Show when Gregg Zaun got hurt. In his MLB debut, he entered with a 15-0 deficit in the 8th inning, pinch-hitting for George Kottaras. Lucroy singled off Nick Blackburn for his first big league hit.
[edit] Sources
- Louisiana Lafayette bio
- 2006-2010 Baseball Almanacs
