Lucas Sundberg Sims (born May 10, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for 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 ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He previously played for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Career

Atlanta Braves

Sims was drafted by the

in the first round of the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

, 21st overall, out of Brookwood High School in

Snellville, Georgia Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. The population was 18,242 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 20,077. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metro ...

. He signed with the Braves, receiving a $1.65 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. During his first professional season he pitched for the rookie level

Gulf Coast League Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at CoolTod ...

and

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

. He finished 2–4 with a 3.71

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

with 39

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in 34

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Sims played the 2013 season with the Class-A

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

. He started the season in the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

but was then moved to the rotation. He finished the season 12–4 with a 2.62 ERA and 134 strikeouts in innings. In 2013, Sims was considered the Braves best prospect according to

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

. In 2014 he was 8–11 with a 4.20 ERA in Class A+. He had fallen to third on the same list by the start of the 2015 season, and was placed seventh on the year-end list. Between three teams, he was 7–6 with a 4.37 ERA. The Braves sent Sims to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

in 2015. He opened the AFL season for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...

, and also started the Fall Stars Game. Sims started 2016 as the Braves # 13 prospect according to ''Baseball America'', and was invited to spring training for the first time. He began the season with the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

, and was promoted to

Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

on April 23. He struggled in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

and returned to Mississippi on June 17. Sims finished 2016 with a 7–11 record and a 4.40 ERA; his 92 walks were the fourth-highest total in the minor leagues, and more than the total of any major leaguer. The Braves added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Sims faced the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

on August 1, 2017, in his major league debut. He pitched six innings, yielding three earned runs and recording three strikeouts. The debuts of Sims and

Ozzie Albies Ozhaino Jurdy Jiandro "Ozzie" Albies (born January 7, 1997) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball second baseman for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Albies signed with the Braves organization in 2013, and made his MLB debut wi ...

marked the first time since 1968 that the Atlanta Braves started two players making their first major league appearance on the same day. He finished the season 3–6, with a 5.62 ERA. In December 2017, Braves manager

Brian Snitker Brian Gerald Snitker (born October 17, 1955) is an American professional baseball coach and former player who is the manager of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Snitker has been in the Braves organization in different roles si ...

said that he might look at

Max Fried Max Dorian Fried ( ; born January 18, 1994), nicknamed "Maximus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Drafted in 2012 by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, F ...

, Sims, or another pitcher as the team's fifth starter in 2018. Sims spent time with the major league team in spring training, but began the 2018 season in Gwinnett.

Cincinnati Reds

On July 30, 2018, the Braves traded Sims,

Matt Wisler Matthew Robert Wisler (born September 12, 1992), nicknamed Wis, is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of high school in the seventh round of the 2011 Major League Baseball dra ...

, and

Preston Tucker Preston Thomas Tucker (21 September 1903 – 26 December 1956) was an American automobile entrepreneur. He is most remembered for his Tucker 48 sedan, initially nicknamed the "Tucker Torpedo", an automobile which introduced many features ...

to the

in exchange for

Adam Duvall Adam Lynn Duvall (born September 4, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He played college baseball at the University of Louisville. Duvall was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 11th round of the 201 ...

. He made three appearances for Cincinnati in 2018, spending the majority of his time with 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 ...

. Sims started his first game as a Red on May 28, 2019, against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. In 2019, he made 24 appearances for Cincinnati, posting a 2-1 record and 4.60 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 43.0 innings pitched. In 2020, Sims went 3–0 with a 2.45 ERA and 34 strikeouts in innings over 20 games in relief. In 2021, he went 5–3 with a 4.40 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 47 innings. In 2022, Sims appeared in 9 games for the Reds, struggling to a 9.45 ERA with 5 strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched. He was originally placed on the injured list with a back injury on May 12, 2022, then transferred to the 60-day injured list on June 17. On July 2, Sims underwent season-ending surgery to address a herniated disc in his back. He returned from the injury in April 2023.

Personal

Sims and his wife, Dani, married in 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Lucas 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Lawrenceville, Georgia Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Major League Baseball pitchers Atlanta Braves players Cincinnati Reds players Gulf Coast Braves players Danville Braves players Rome Braves players Lynchburg Hillcats players Carolina Mudcats players Mississippi Braves players Peoria Javelinas players Gwinnett Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Louisville Bats players