Lucas Lester Luetge ( born March 24, 1987) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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

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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

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 in MLB for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Career

Early career

Luetge attended Bellville High School in Bellville, Texas, and

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Rice Owls baseball The Rice Owls baseball team is the interscholastic baseball team representing Rice University in Houston, Texas, United States. The Owls have appeared often in the NCAA Tournament since the tenure of head coach Wayne Graham began in 1992. The p ...

team. The Milwaukee Brewers 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 The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

in 2011.

Seattle Mariners

The

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 James Anthony Loney (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and New York Mets, and in Korea Baseball Org ...

on a sacrifice bunt. Luetge was the fourth pitcher to throw in the no-hitter after

Kevin Millwood Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Colo ...

and Stephen Pryor 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 The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

. 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 The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

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 The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

, 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 organization. Luetge was assigned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats. On June 1, 2017, the Reds released Luetge.

Baltimore Orioles

On June 4, 2017, Luetge signed a minor league deal with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

organization. He finished the season with the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

and elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On February 4, 2019, Luetge signed a minor league deal with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

. In 2019 his 55 games pitched tied for the lead in the minor leagues. After splitting the season with the Double-A

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

and Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

, 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 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. 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

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 The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, 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

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 A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

that average about 90 mph, a sweeping

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

in the low 80s, a curveball in the mid-upper 70s, and an occasional

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. Luetge's wide arm angle on his delivery makes him appealing as a

left-handed specialist In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly right-handed. Bec ...

; 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