Nathan Lukes

Nathan Donald Lukes

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• School California State University, Sacramento
• High School Center High School (Antelope)
• Debut March 30, 2023

• Born July 12, 1994 in Portland, OR USA

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Biographical Information

Outfielder Nathan Lukes made his major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays at the start of the 2023 season after spending seven seasons in the minors, not including the 2020 season when he was forced into inaction by the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the minor leagues. He was 28 years old by then and playing for his third organization, having originally been drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 7th round of the 2015 amateur draft.

He played 29 games for the Blue Jays in his first season, but only had 31 plate appearances, as he was mainly used as a defensive substitute in the outfield. However, with the AAA Buffalo Bisons he hit a scorching .366 in 48 games. In 2024, he hit .333 in 54 games for the Bisons (and .364 in 3 games for the Class A Dunedin Blue Jays on a rehabilitation assignment). Toronto again gave him a chance to play a few games, and he hit .303 in 22 games and 91 plate appearances, and also hit his first big league homer. He then made the team out of spring training again in 2025. He turned out to be a key contributor to a team that posted the best record in the American League that season, playing 135 games and appearing at all three outfield positions, batting .255 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs. His OPS+ was 99. He continued to do well in the postseason, with 17 hits in 62 at-bats (.274) in the three series which the Blue Jays played. He scored 5 runs, drove in 8, and had 4 doubles.

He started the 2026 season slowly, as after 14 games on April 15th, he was batting just .065 and playing less than the year before due to the acquisition of Jesús Sánchez in the off-season. Some of his struggles were traced to a case of vertigo that took a while to diagnose, and once he started taking medication for the condition, he hit much better, going 11 for 21 over his next 7 games to raise his average to .250, with his first four extra-bases of the season, all doubles. But after hitting the fourth of these doubles in the 1st inning on April 24th, he was removed from the game with a hamstring issue, and was immediately placed on the injured list, the latest in a biblical series of injuries to Blue Jays regulars.

His last name is pronounced almost exactly like that of his Toronto teammate Easton Lucas.

Related Sites

• Nathan Lukes on mlb.com
• Sacramento State bio