Milwaukee Brewers All Time 25 Man Roster
By David Hill
Catcher – Jonathan Lucroy (2010-2016)
Jonathan Lucroy barely missed a game behind the plate, being a true iron man as a catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. Even that workload could not slow down his production.
A young catcher during the Brewers solid run at the beginning of the decade, it took a couple of years before Lucroy began to hit the way we have become accustomed to seeing. He exploded offensively in 2012, posting a 132 OPS+, and continued to hit since. A two time All Star, Lucroy led the National League with 53 doubles in 2014, as he finished fourth in the MVP vote.
During his tenure with the Brewers, Lucroy had a .284/.342/.436 batting line, hitting 79 home runs and 157 doubles. He proved to be quite adept at putting the bat on the ball, striking out only 461 times in 2838 at bats. If the Brewers needed a runner to be moved along, or a hit and run, Lucroy was the perfect player to get that ball in play.
Behind the plate, Lucroy was the best defensive the Brewers had, narrowly edging out B.J. Surhoff with a 56.7 DEF rating. Lucroy’s solid arm has him currently leading the National League with a 40% caught stealing rate this season. He worked his way from being a defensive liability to one of the more underrated defensive catchers in the game today.
Although his tenure with the Brewers ended earlier this season, Jonathan Lucroy may continue to provide value for Milwaukee for years to come. The best all around catcher in team history, Lucroy’s legacy lives on.
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