Milwaukee’s Best, Part 3: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 30-21
By Phil Watson
Jun 5, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy (20) against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Milwaukee Brewers win 8-5. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
29. Jonathan Lucroy, C
Brewers, 2010-14
The Brewers selected Jonathan Lucroy out of Louisiana-Lafayette in the third round of the 2007 amateur draft and he quickly worked his way through the organization, making his major-league debut in May 2010.
Lucroy almost immediately became the Brewers’ primary catcher upon arrival in the show and had an injury-shortened breakout .320/.358/.513 season in 2012. He followed that up in 2013 by hitting .280/.340/.455 with 82 RBI.
He earned his first All-Star berth and finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2014 after setting major-league records with 53 doubles as a player primarily playing catcher and 46 hit while playing the position.
The 53 doubles led the National League, marking the first time a catcher had led his league in that category.
In 2014, Lucroy was third in the NL in WAR, fifth in hits, seventh in batting and ninth in on-base percentage. In 2013, he was ninth in the league in triples.
He was also 8-for-32 with a homer and five RBI during Milwaukee’s postseason run in 2011.
Here are Lucroy’s statistics from his five seasons with the Brewers:
| Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 24 | 75 | 297 | 277 | 24 | 70 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 44 | .253 | .300 | .329 | .628 | 70 |
| 2011 | 25 | 136 | 468 | 430 | 45 | 114 | 16 | 1 | 12 | 59 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 99 | .265 | .313 | .391 | .703 | 90 |
| 2012 | 26 | 96 | 346 | 316 | 46 | 101 | 17 | 4 | 12 | 58 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 44 | .320 | .368 | .513 | .881 | 132 |
| 2013 | 27 | 147 | 580 | 521 | 59 | 146 | 25 | 6 | 18 | 82 | 9 | 1 | 46 | 69 | .280 | .340 | .455 | .795 | 116 |
| 2014 ★ | 28 | 153 | 655 | 585 | 73 | 176 | 53 | 2 | 13 | 69 | 4 | 4 | 66 | 71 | .301 | .373 | .465 | .837 | 132 |
| TOTALS | 607 | 2346 | 2129 | 247 | 607 | 120 | 13 | 59 | 294 | 23 | 9 | 181 | 327 | .285 | .343 | .437 | .779 | 112 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/19/2015.
Next: 28. 2-Time All-Star Did Not Wear Sunglasses Often