Lucas Lester Luetge ( born March 24, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees

Career

Early career

Luetge attended

Bellville High School Bellville Independent School District is a public school district based in Bellville, Texas (USA). In addition to Bellville, the district also serves the city of Industry as well as rural areas in northern Austin County. Finances As of the 201 ...

Bellville, Texas Bellville is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Austin County. The city's population was 4,206 at the 2020 census. Bellville is on the eastern edge of the Texas-German belt, and Bellville is known for its German culture and descenda ...

, and Rice University, where he played college baseball for the Rice Owls baseball team. The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

drafted Luetge in the 21st round of the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. Luetge spent three and a half seasons with the Brewers minor league affiliates, reaching as high as Double-A with the Huntsville Stars in 2011.

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners selected Luetge from the Brewers on December 8, 2011 in the Rule 5 Draft. Lucas Luetge on April 21, 2012

On April 7, 2012, Luetge made his MLB debut. On June 8, 2012, he was one of 6 pitchers that the Mariners used to no-hit the Dodgers. He recorded one out, getting James Loney on a

sacrifice bunt In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...

. Luetge was the fourth pitcher to throw in the no-hitter after Kevin Millwood and

Stephen Pryor Stephen Michael Pryor (born July 23, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Pryor made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 2012. He won his first game on June 8, 2012, in a combined no-hitter started by Kevin ...

was taken out of the game. In his rookie season, Luetge registered a 3.98 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 40.2 innings of work. The next year, Luetge pitched to a 4.86 ERA in 35 appearances, along with only 27 strikeouts in 37.0 innings pitched, while splitting time between Seattle and the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Luetge spent 2014 up and down between Tacoma and Seattle as well, recording a 5.00 ERA with 7 strikeouts in 9.0 innings pitched for the big league club. Lucas Leutge

On On September 5, 2015, Luetge was outrighted off of the Mariners 40-man roster. At the time, he had only thrown 2.1 innings of scoreless ball on the year, spending the majority of the season in Triple-A. On November 7, 2015, Luetge elected free agency.

Los Angeles Angels

On November 17, 2015, Luetge signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels organization. On May 22, 2016, Luetge was selected to the Angels' active roster, however he was designated for assignment on May 25 without making an appearance for the big league club. On May 27, he was outrighted to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, where he spent the remainder of the season. On October 3, 2016, Luetge elected free agency.

Cincinnati Reds

On November 25, 2016, Luetge signed a minor league contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization. Luetge was assigned to the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

. On June 1, 2017, the Reds released Luetge.

Baltimore Orioles

On June 4, 2017, Luetge signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles organization. He finished the season with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides and elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On February 4, 2019, Luetge signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2019 his 55 games pitched tied for the lead in the minor leagues. After splitting the season with the Double-A Jackson Generals and Triple-A Reno Aces, Luetge elected free agency on November 7, 2019.

Oakland Athletics

Luetge signed a minor league contract, with an invite to major league spring training, with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

on November 25, 2019. Luetge did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was added to the Athletics' 60-man player pool for the season, but spent the entire year at the alternate site. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

New York Yankees

Luetge signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees for the 2021 season, receiving a non-roster invitation to spring training. After a strong spring training in which he accrued 18 strikeouts in innings pitched, Luetge was selected to the Yankees' Opening Day roster on March 31. On April 3, 2021, in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Luetge appeared in his first major league game since April 25, 2015. He finished the season with a 2.74 ERA in innings across 57 appearances. Luetge made the Yankees bullpen for the 2022 season. In 2022 he was 4–4 with a 2.67 ERA. He was designated for assignment on December 21, 2022.

Atlanta Braves

On December 28, 2022, Luetge was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor leaguers Chad Durbin and Indigo Diaz.

Scouting report

Luetge throws a variety of pitches. He has a four-seam and two-seam fastball that average about 90 mph, a sweeping slider in the low 80s, a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

in the mid-upper 70s, and an occasional changeup. Luetge's wide arm angle on his delivery makes him appealing as a left-handed specialist; through his first 13 appearances in the 2012 season, lefties were hitting only .105 off of him, but righties managed a .308 average.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luetge, Lucas 1987 births Living people People from Austin County, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Seattle Mariners players New York Yankees players Rice Owls baseball players San Jacinto Central Ravens baseball players Helena Brewers players West Virginia Power players Brevard County Manatees players Huntsville Stars players Tacoma Rainiers players Arizona League Mariners players Surprise Rafters players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Salt Lake Bees players Louisville Bats players Norfolk Tides players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Reno Aces players