Lucas Stijepan Erceg (born May 1, 1995) is an American 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, ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

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(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

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 ...

, with whom he made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Amateur career

Erceg attended Westmont High School in

Campbell, California Campbell is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, Campbell's population is 43,959. Campbell is home to the Pruneyard Shopping Center, a sprawling open-ai ...

. He attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 2014 and 2015 and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

as a pitcher and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. He was named first team All-

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

in 2015. Prior to the 2016 season, he was ruled academically ineligible and transferred to

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and located in Atherton, California, United States. Campus Menlo College is situated on a 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco an ...

Milwaukee Brewers

After one year at Menlo, the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

selected Erceg in the second round, with the 46th overall pick, of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee ...

of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Pioneer League and was promoted to the

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are nam ...

of the Single–A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

after hitting .400 over 26 games. Erceg finished his first professional season with a .327 batting average, nine home runs and 51 RBI in 68 total games between both teams. In 2017, he played for the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

of the High–A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

where he batted .256 with 15 home runs and 81 RBI in 127 games along with playing in three games for the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

of the Triple–A

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

at the end of the season.

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ranked Erceg as Milwaukee's fourth ranked prospect going into the 2018 season. He spent the 2018 season with the

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in ref ...

of the Double–A Southern League, batting .248 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI in 123 games. He spent 2019 with the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

of the Triple–A

, slashing .218/.305/.398 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI over 116 games. Erceg did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of 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 ...

. In 2021, Erceg began to focus more of his effort on pitching, along with still playing third base. Playing exclusively for Double-A Biloxi, he played in 50 games as a hitter, he slashed .223/.270/.379 with 3 home runs, 12 RBI, and 3 stolen bases. In 22 games (13 starts) as a pitcher, Erceg logged a 2-6 record and 5.29 ERA with 45 strikeouts in innings pitched. Erceg split the 2022 season between Biloxi and 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 ...

, pitching in 49 games and registering a 3-4 record and 4.55 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 2 saves in innings of work. Erceg was assigned to Triple–A Nashville to begin the 2023 season, where he made 13 appearances and struggled to a 6.46 ERA with 16 strikeouts in innings pitched.

Oakland Athletics

On May 17, 2023, Erceg was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. On May 19, Erceg was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that night versus the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, allowing one run over one inning and recording one strikeout. In his rookie campaign, Erceg made 50 appearances out of 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 ...

, compiling a 4–4 record and 4.75 ERA with 68 strikeouts across 55 innings pitched. Erceg made 38 appearances for Oakland in 2024, recording a 3.68 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 3 saves across innings of work.

Kansas City Royals

On July 30, 2024, the Athletics traded Erceg to the

in exchange for Mason Barnett, Will Klein, and Jared Dickey.

Personal life

Erceg's father is from

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erceg, Lucas 1995 births Living people American people of Croatian descent Baseball players from San Jose, California Baseball third basemen Biloxi Shuckers players 21st-century American sportsmen California Golden Bears baseball players Carolina Mudcats players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Helena Brewers players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Menlo Oaks baseball players Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Omaha Storm Chasers players Salt River Rafters players San Antonio Missions players Sportspeople from Campbell, California Sugar Land Lightning Sloths players Westmont High School (California) alumni Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players