Milwaukee Brewers’ Jonathan Lucroy having season to forget
By Tim Haberin
During the past three seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers‘ Jonathan Lucroy has been one of the better catchers in the game of baseball. From 2012-2014, he posted a .297/.359/.472 slash line while averaging 14 home runs and 70 RBI. Last year was his best overall campaign to date, as he made his first All-Star Game appearance, finished fourth in National League MVP voting and set a record for catchers by hitting a league-high 53 doubles. His 6.7 WAR was also tops among MLB backstops.
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It has been a very different story in 2015 for the 29-year-old catcher, however. Lucroy has struggled to assert himself at the plate like he did a season ago. He currently sports a paltry .235/.301/.327 batting line and has swatted only four homers and driven in just 25 runs on the year.
To his credit, Lucroy has not shied away from acknowledging this season’s disappointments. In speaking to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the catcher owned up to his failures rather bluntly: “It’s actually embarrassing, the way I’ve been playing. I’m not performing at the level I’m capable of … I’ve just sucked. I wish that was the excuse but it’s not.”
While his candor is somewhat refreshing, Lucroy may be judging himself a bit harshly. His season went awry after less than a month when a broken toe landed him on the disabled list on April 20. He did not make his return until June 1, limiting him to 73 games thus far.
Amid those five weeks on the sidelines, Lucroy simply hasn’t been able to rediscover his rhythm at the plate. He appeared to be breaking out of his slump right out of the gate after the All-Star break, hitting .296 from July 17-31. His bat has turned cold again in August though, to the tune of a .111 average over the last ten games.
Of course, Lucroy has not been the only one in Milwaukee to experience trying times in 2015. The Brew Crew sit dead-last in the NL Central with a 48-68 record, the spot where they have spent most of the campaign. Their 450 runs scored place them 20th in the majors, and their pitching staff’s 4.16 ERA is good for just 24th.
Former manager Ron Roenicke was dismissed during the first week of May after only 25 games. And in the latest development of a whirlwind season, General Manager Doug Melvin announced his decision this week to step down after 13 years at his post.
There is certainly plenty of disappointment to go around the organization, but the club probably feels particularly let down by the lackluster season Lucroy is putting together as a follow-up to such a brilliant one. After last year’s lofty WAR total, the catcher has been a net negative factor in 2015 with a -0.2 mark to date.
For Lucroy, getting himself sorted out may be more of a psychological battle than anything. “I feel fine physically,” he explained. “Mentally, it’s a different story.”
Fortunately, he has about seven weeks left to change that narrative. While the Brewers will be hard-pressed to salvage much of anything from this season before its conclusion, Lucroy can still give his confidence a valuable boost heading into next year by finishing the campaign in much stronger fashion.