Joshua Timothy Lucas (born November 5, 1990) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Lucas graduated from

Lakeland Senior High School Lakeland Senior High School (abbreviated as LSHS) is an independent public co-educational high day school, located in the suburb of South Lake, Western Australia. History The school was established in 1990 and caters to students from Year 7 to ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

in 2009. He attended the

State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota (SCF) is a public college with campuses in the Manatee County, Manatee and Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota counties of Florida, United States. Part of the Florida College System, it is designated a ...

, where he was a pitcher for their baseball team. As a freshman, Lucas had a 5–4 record and 4.26 ERA in 69.2 innings pitched. He was drafted by the

in the 21st round, 649th overall, of the

2010 MLB draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...

. Lucas made his professional debut with the

GCL Cardinals The Florida Complex League Cardinals or FCL Cardinals are a rookie league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. ...

, recording a 4.88 ERA in 14 appearances. In 2011, Lucas played for the rookie-level

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian Leagu ...

, posting a 4-1 record and 4.00 ERA in 8 starts. Lucas missed the 2012 season due to injury. He split the 2013 season between the GCL Cardinals, the Low-A

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The team was fo ...

, and the Single-A

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Pe ...

, logging an 0-5 record and 7.48 ERA in 6 games. The following season, Lucas split the year between State College, Peoria, and the High-A

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

, accumulating a 3-3 record and 1.70 ERA in 31 appearances. In 2015, Lucas split the year between Palm Beach and the Double-A

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

, pitching to a cumulative 4-3 record and 1.17 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 61.2 innings of work. For the 2016 season, Lucas split the season between Springfield and the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

, registering a 4-2 record and 4.03 ERA in 45 appearances between the two teams. He was assigned to Memphis to begin the 2017 season. Lucas was selected to the 40-man roster and called up to the majors for the first time on August 19, 2017. He made his MLB debut the same day, pitching two innings of one-run ball 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. He played in five games for St. Louis in his rookie year, posting a 3.68 ERA with seven strikeouts. After the season, the Cardinals assigned Lucas to the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Roya ...

of the

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

. Lucas pitched 12 total innings in the AFL, posting a 1–2 record with a 5.25 ERA. Lucas was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on March 28, 2018.

Oakland Athletics

On March 31, 2018, Lucas was traded to the

in exchange for pitcher Casey Meisner and optioned to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

. He was recalled on April 20 but optioned back to Nashville the next day. He was recalled once again on May 8. He made his first major league start on May 24 against the

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

. After posting a 6.28 ERA in 8 major league games with Oakland, he was sent outright to Triple-A on September 1. In 31 games with Nashville, Lucas was 0–2 with a 2.56 ERA and with 32 strikeouts and 15 walks. He elected free agency on November 2.

Baltimore Orioles

On November 28, 2018, Lucas signed a minor league contract with the

organization that included an invitation to spring training. He did not make the team and was assigned to the Triple-A

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

to begin the year. On April 11, 2019, the Orioles purchased his contract and recalled him to the major league roster. Lucas was designated for assignment on April 22 after yielding 2 earned runs in 4.1 innings and was outrighted on April 26. Lucas again had his contract selected on May 20. Lucas was again designated for assignment on July 6, after recording a 5.74 ERA in 9 games. He was again sent outright to Norfolk, and had the option to decline the assignment, but accepted it. On August 19, the Orioles organization released Lucas.

Washington Nationals

On August 26, 2019, Lucas signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

organization. He finished the year with the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

, pitching to a 1-0 record and 6.00 ERA in 3 games with the team. Lucas elected free agency following the season on November 4.

Long Island Ducks

On April 20, 2020, Lucas signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. However, he did not play a game for the team because of the cancellation of the 2020 ALPB season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Winnipeg Goldeyes

On August 30, 2020, Lucas signed with the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. Lucas posted a 1.20 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 15.0 innings of work with the team. On January 20, 2021, Lucas re-signed with the Goldeyes.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On May 9, 2021, Lucas signed a minor league deal with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

and was assigned to the Triple-A

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

. In 5 appearances for Reno, Lucas struggled to a 21.94 ERA, giving up 13 runs in 5.1 innings pitched, while striking out 3. On August 14, 2021, Lucas was released by the Diamondbacks.

Winnipeg Goldeyes (second stint)

On January 25, 2022, Lucas signed with the

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

Cleburne Railroaders

On June 24, 2022, Lucas was traded to the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

for cash. In 17 games (9 starts) for Cleburne, he logged a 3.62 ERA with 53 strikeouts across innings of work. On November 29, Lucas was released by the Railroaders.

Gateway Grizzlies

On December 7, 2022, Lucas signed with the

Gateway Grizzlies The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team based in Sauget, Illinois. The Grizzlies compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division. The franchise was founded in 2001 and they play their home games at the 6, ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

. He made 21 appearances for the Grizzlies, recording a 2.84 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 4 saves across innings pitched. On February 19, 2024, Lucas announced his retirement from professional baseball via

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Josh 1990 births Living people Baseball players from Lakeland, Florida Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Oakland Athletics players Baltimore Orioles players SCF Manatees baseball players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Johnson City Cardinals players State College Spikes players Peoria Chiefs players Palm Beach Cardinals players Springfield Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players Surprise Saguaros players Nashville Sounds players Norfolk Tides players Fresno Grizzlies players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Reno Aces players Cleburne Railroaders players Gateway Grizzlies players