A look at Jonathan Lucroy in free agency.
With 2018 upon us, many of the MLB’s top free agents have yet to find homes, in what has been without a doubt one of the slowest hot stove seasons in recent memory. Today, we look at the free agent case for former All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy.
Let’s start with the obvious: 2017 was one of, if not the worst season, in Lucroy’s career. At the age of 31, Lucroy finished the year hitting .265/.345/.371, with 6 HR, 40 RBI, 112 hits, and 45 runs scored in 123 games. Despite spending the season hitting in the Global Park in Arlington and Coors Field, both hitters parks, Lucroy’s home run total was his lowest since 2010, when he was a rookie who only appeared in 75 games. The same could be said about Lucroy’s runs scored, and runs batted in totals.
However, Lucroy’s 2017 has to be looked at through two lenses; his time with the Rangers, and his time with the Rockies after he was traded midseason. While Lucroy struggled mightily in Texas, he proved that he still has some gas left in the tank in Colorado.
- Texas: 77 G, 27 R, 68 H, 15 2B, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 19 BB, 32 K, .242/.297/.338
- Colorado: 46 G, 18 R, 44 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 27 BB, 19 K, .310/.429/.337
While Coors Field may be the best hitters park in baseball, the Global Park in Arlington is an extreme hitters park as well, with the two ranking 1-2 in MLB Park Factors. Thus, Lucroy’s increased AVG, OBP, and SLG in Colorado cannot simply be attributed to moving to a hitters park, as he moved from the second best, to the best place for players to hit. Additionally, Lucroy displayed a newfound patience at the plate in Colorado, waling eight more times than he did in Texas despite appearing in 31 fewer games.
Even with a down 2017 to consider, Lucroy is still a career .281/.343/.433 hitter with a reputation as a strong defensive catcher, having compiled 5.8 dWAR in his career without a single season of negative dWAR value. Excluding 2017, Lucroy complied a career .283/.343/.441 mark, which shows that a down 2017 did not have to much of an effect on Lucroy’s career numbers.
Over his eight-year big league career, Lucroy has averaged 122 games per season and 2.5 WAR, both solid marks for the catcher position. Offensively, Lucroy’s seasonal averages include 13 HR, 62 RBI, 42 BB, 71 K, 127 Hits, 25 2B, and 55 runs scored; while those numbers do not jump off the page, combined with his career .281/.343/.433 line, Lucroy is clearly an above average hitting catcher.
Defensively, Lucroy’s .993 fielding percentage ranks 35th all-time amongst catchers, and his career range factor/9 innings (8.40) and range factor/game (7.88) as a catcher both rank amongst the top 9 all-time at the position. In his eight seasons in the MLB, Lucroy has played over 100 games six times, and over 123 games five times, finishing in the top four of defensive games as a catcher in the NL three times, and in caught stealing by a catcher four times.
While Lucroy is not the player is not the catcher who led the NL with 53 doubles en route a 4th place finish in the 2014 NL MVP vote, he is still clearly one of the better all-around catchers in the MLB, and is more than capable of being a starter at the position for the next 2-3 seasons. As the best catcher remaining on the free agent market, and possibly the best of the entire free agent class, Lucroy should receive interest from teams in need of an upgrade at catcher, such as the Astros, Mets, White Sox, Indians, or Orioles. In addition, despite the minor breakout of Manny Pina in 2017, a reunion with the Milwaukee Brewers could make a ton of sense for both sides, allowing Lucroy to return to where he started his career, while giving the Brewers a veteran presence to lead their pitching staff as they look to make the jump from 86 wins to the playoffs.
Final Prediction: Two Years, $20 million with the New York Mets
- TAGS
- Johnathan Lucroy
- MLB Free Agency
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