Source: Mike McGinnis Getty Images/ North America
6. Jonathan Lucroy, C, Milwaukee Brewers
Staying with the injury theme, Jonathan Lucroy is yet another player coming off an injury plagued season looking to make a big bounce back. Lucroy is even more interesting in this regard given his status as a member of a clearly rebuilding team. If not for his various injuries in 2015, including his ongoing problems with concussions, there’s little chance that Lucroy would even still be a member of the Brewers roster going into 2016. Coming off the best year of his career, in which he finished with 6.1 fWAR, 2015 was truly a year to forget for Lucroy.
Even when Lucroy was healthy and on the field in 2015, he still struggled immensely. Lucroy’s strong defense took a step back, and his offense fell to below league average, with a wRC+ of only 93. Given the positional adjustment of being a catcher, that 93 wRC+ isn’t too bad. Even so, Lucroy finished with a wRC+ that was 39 points lower than his 132 in 2014. With spring training well underway, it appears Lucroy is completely healthy, but there are still some question marks going into 2016. After facing an offseason filled with trade rumors with his name attached, there is at least some distraction for Lucroy going into the season. Coming off such a poor year, he is going to need to focus on improving his play on the field in 2016.
Given his injury concerns and the likelihood of a trade, Lucroy should be quite an interesting player to watch in 2016. If Lucroy is able to regain his previous form, he may very well find himself with a new team by the end of the year. Until then, Lucroy will be sticking with the Milwaukee Brewers for the foreseeable future.
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