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Jonathan Lucroy
Lucroy has been the starting catcher for the Brewers since 2010, when he replaced an injured Greg Zaun. Lucroy quickly established himself as a solid defensive catcher, handling the duties behind the plate like a veteran.
Now in his seventh season, Lucroy has become one of the elite catchers in the game. He owns a .284 career batting average with 79 home runs, 157 doubles, and 387 RBI. Lucroy hit 53 doubles in 2014, 46 of them in games that he caught. Both of those are MLB records for a catcher.
Lucroy is coming off an injury-plagued 2015 season and has shown that he is back to form. He earned his second All-Star appearance this year and is hitting .299 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI.
Lucroy is even better behind the plate than he is at the plate. He is a well-known pitch framer that has helped his pitching staff with close pitches. He is also good at blocking balls in the dirt, which gives pitchers the confidence to throw a breaking ball in the dirt, even with a runner at third.
Lucroy worked on the one weak spot in his defense, throwing out base stealers. He improved his 27% career rate to 40% this season. He has thrown out a Major League high 32 runners this year.
Lucroy is the Brewers all-time leader for catchers with a .284 batting average, 79 home runs, 806 hits, and 157 doubles, and is second with 387 RBI. That includes all catchers that spent 40% of their time with the Brewers as a catcher.
Lucroy will be a huge upgrade at catcher. He is joining a strong offensive team that has very few holes in it. Now there will be one less hole. He will also be able to help a pitching staff that, besides Cole Hamels, has been under-performing.
The Brewers selected Jeffress with the 16th overall selection of the 2006 MLB draft. He was traded along with Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, and Jake Odorizzi in the deal that brought Zack Greinke to Milwaukee. Jeffress signed again with the Brewers as a free agent before the 2014 season.
Since rejoining the Brewers, Jeffress is 8-3 with a 2.36 ERA and 27 saves. He made 72 appearances last season and maintained a 2.65 ERA. This season is Jeffress’ first season in a closer role and he has taken full advantage of it. He is 27 of 28 in save opportunities on a team that is in its first year of a rebuild process.
Jeffress will probably slide into the 8th inning role for the Rangers, as Sam Dyson has had a good season as the closer. It is a role that Jeffress has succeeded in and one that can help the Rangers shut down opposing teams late in the game.
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