Erceg Still a Big-League Prospect—as a Pitcher

Lucas Erceg stood on the mound at Minute Maid Park on May 19, 2023, during his big-league debut. As he looked around, he saw his wife Emma and a couple of friends in the stands. He worked one inning and although it wasn’t perfect, it was perfect to him. “Being drafted as a position player, it didn’t work out the way I wanted to, but I still had the second opportunity to continue my career as a pitcher, and I’ve put in a lot of hard work to get to where I am today,” Erceg said.

Erceg was drafted by the Brewers in the 2nd round of the 2016 June Amateur Draft. He was the 46th overall pick, ahead of fellow second-rounders Bryan Reynolds, Pete Alonso, and Bo Bichette. Those three guys have all played at least 500 games in the big leagues, and they have all played in at least one All-Star game. Erceg finally made it to the majors in 2023—as a pitcher. Erceg’s circuitous journey is one worth looking at: a journey of depression, alcohol, and finally, healing.

Drafted out of Menlo College (CA) Erceg signed a few days later for $1.15 million. He began his professional career in Helena, Montana, playing in the Rookie Pioneer League. Erceg lived up to his reputation, slashing .400/.452/.552 in 115 plate appearances, earning him a promotion to Low-A Wisconsin in the Midwest League. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound southpaw swinger didn’t disappoint in the higher classification, hitting .281/.328/.497 across 180 trips to the plate.  

In 2017, Erceg played most of the campaign at High-A Carolina in the Carolina League and performed well, slashing .256/.307/.417 in 127 games. He was promoted to Triple-A Colorado Springs, mostly as another bat in the Sky Sox’ playoff run, which ended short as they were defeated in the semifinal round of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) playoffs. In his short stint, Erceg went 4-for-10 with a pair of doubles and RBIs. He finished the season playing for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League, slashing .250/.278/.404 in 14 games.

Erceg played at Double-A Southern League Biloxi in 2018, slashing .248/.306/.382 across 508 plate appearances. That earned him a promotion the next season to Triple-A San Antonio in the PCL.

He dropped to eighth on the 2019 Brewers top prospect list. One concern was that he was expanding his zone and swinging at poor pitches, resulting in weak-hit balls. Erceg only slashed .219/.305/.398 in 406 trips, including 15 home runs. After the season, he dropped to #24 on the Brewers top prospect list, with the rankings following his performance.

The 2020 minor league season was wiped out by Covid, but Erceg played independent ball in the Constellation Energy League, based in Texas. The season was a flop by all measures, with a slash line of .180/.245/.202 in 89 ABs and only two extra-base hits.

The pandemic, frustration about his worsening numbers, and drinking all led to depression. Erceg decided to do something about it and started by giving up drinking on June 10, 2020. The day after, Erceg said “everything looked brighter.”

Next spring, the Brewers gave Erceg a chance to pitch as well as play in the field during spring training in Arizona. They probably agreed for two reasons: Erceg’s career as a 3B had stalled, and he was able to throw 97-100 miles per hour. He did okay in his first attempt at a Shohei Ohtani impersonation, slashing .223/.270/.379 in 112 trips, while starting 13 games (22 appearances) on the mound, with an elevated, but probably expected WHIP of 1.53 and an ERA of 5.29 across 47 2/3 innings. Not great, but you must start somewhere.

Erceg became a full-time pitcher in 2022 and made his Brewer debut in spring training and impressed manager Craig Counsell, who said, “Good velocity, great arm. I think we’re all really interested in watching him and we’ll see what happens.”

The right-handed hurler began the season in Biloxi and although his numbers weren’t the greatest, he was promoted to Triple-A Nashville. Erceg upped his game, posting not-great-but-good numbers in 33 appearances. For the year, he pitched in 49 games to a 4.55 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and 10.1 K/9. All in all, it looked like a season of someone just learning how to pitch.

In 2023, he began pitching for Nashville, appearing in only 13 games before he was acquired by the Oakland A’s in mid-May for cash considerations. Although he was initially assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas, he instead made his major league debut May 19 in Houston. Erceg was treated rudely by the Astros, allowing two hits, one run, and one walk in an inning of work. He notched his first major league win on May 29 against the Braves, pitching three perfect innings while striking out four.

He struggled in July and early August, giving up 18 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings (13.14 ERA) during that stretch. Erceg finished strong, allowing only three earned runs in 20 2/3 innings (1.31 ERA) from mid-August to the end of the season, a stretch of 18 games.

Erceg finished his rookie campaign with 50 appearances, striking out 68 batters in 55 innings. He still needs to work on his control (36 walks), but his potential is seemingly unlimited. He throws a four-seamer, two-seamer, change, and slider. And he has touched 100 on the gun.

All the trials and tribulations have made Erceg a better player, and a better man. He has been sober for three and one-half years and has wife Emma as his support staff. Another person solidly in Erceg’s corner is former Menlo College coach Jake McKinley. “No matter what happens in his baseball career, I am just proud of him as a person,” said McKinley, who is now the Brewers vice president of player development.

“The big leagues are hard,” Erceg told Martin Gallegos of A’s Beat. “It definitely will expose you in terms of what you need to get better at. I think that’s the best part about having so many games played in the big leagues this year. Now I get to go into this offseason with a list of improvements I need to make. Now that I understand how hard this game is, it’s only going to push me to get better this offseason.”

With all Lucas Erceg has gone through, it’s not hard to wish him the best, even if he isn’t a Brewer.