Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Prospect Perch: SS Juan Lucena
Juan Lucena was signed out of Lara, Venezuela in 2002 by Enrique Brito. St. Louis Cardinals VP Jeff Luhnow has set out to rectify the rarity that is Juan Lucena, a legitimate Latin American prospect in the Cardinals farm system.
He played 2002 with the Cardinals’ Venezuelan Summer League squad hitting .191/.208/.213/.421 with three RBI in 47 at-bats. He almost turned into an afterthought from there and didn’t fare much better for the Cardinals Dominican Summer League squad in 2003 as he hit only .234/.287/.327/.614 with six swipes and 18 RBI in 248 at-bats.
Lucena then appeared with Johnson City and won the 2004 Appy League batting title in his stateside debut. during his “coming to America” campaign he hit .332/.365/.439/.804 with four home runs, seven stolen bases, 13 extra-base hits and 30 RBI in only 205 at-bats. He was named to the post-season Appalachian League All-Star team.
He was promoted to Low-A Quad Cities in 2005 and handled the jump in competition superbly as he hit .301/.329/.349/.678 (mostly off of singles) with a pair of homers, nine swipes and 43 RBI in 332 at-bats. He posted a .400 average in June as he was named the Cardinals minor league hitter of the month.
He has an easy line-drive swing and a high contact ratio. He struck out just once every 32.7 plate appearances, a ratio that was the best in the entire minor leagues. Lucena has tremendous pitch awareness but needs to take more pitches to go deeper into counts and draw more walks (12 in ‘05). Power will never be his forte, but he should be a solid line drive hitter with a decent batting average.
Lucena is the best defensive infielder in the system. He possesses good range, sure hands and a decent arm. His versatility to play numerous positions should garner him consideration in the future as a utilityman for the big league club. He will begin 2006 at High-A Palm Beach.
He played 2002 with the Cardinals’ Venezuelan Summer League squad hitting .191/.208/.213/.421 with three RBI in 47 at-bats. He almost turned into an afterthought from there and didn’t fare much better for the Cardinals Dominican Summer League squad in 2003 as he hit only .234/.287/.327/.614 with six swipes and 18 RBI in 248 at-bats.
Lucena then appeared with Johnson City and won the 2004 Appy League batting title in his stateside debut. during his “coming to America” campaign he hit .332/.365/.439/.804 with four home runs, seven stolen bases, 13 extra-base hits and 30 RBI in only 205 at-bats. He was named to the post-season Appalachian League All-Star team.
He was promoted to Low-A Quad Cities in 2005 and handled the jump in competition superbly as he hit .301/.329/.349/.678 (mostly off of singles) with a pair of homers, nine swipes and 43 RBI in 332 at-bats. He posted a .400 average in June as he was named the Cardinals minor league hitter of the month.
He has an easy line-drive swing and a high contact ratio. He struck out just once every 32.7 plate appearances, a ratio that was the best in the entire minor leagues. Lucena has tremendous pitch awareness but needs to take more pitches to go deeper into counts and draw more walks (12 in ‘05). Power will never be his forte, but he should be a solid line drive hitter with a decent batting average.
Lucena is the best defensive infielder in the system. He possesses good range, sure hands and a decent arm. His versatility to play numerous positions should garner him consideration in the future as a utilityman for the big league club. He will begin 2006 at High-A Palm Beach.
