Milwaukee Brewers: AFL check in on Lucas Erceg

Lucas Erceg is a promising young infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.

He is one of the Milwaukee Brewers prospects to earn a roster spot in the Arizona Fall League. Erceg is having much more success than Corey Ray, who was the first subject for a check up. Where Ray is finding trouble, Erceg is standing out.

Through six games playing for the Salt River Rafters, Erceg boats a .350 batting average. This means he has secured seven hits on the season. However, those hits are more impressive than they seem. The majority of them are for extra bases. With three doubles and a homerun, that leaves three singles.

That kind of ability to hit for extra bases bodes well for him moving forward. But, he will have to work on his strikeouts. As it stands right now in the AFL, he strikes out on average once a game. And on the defensive side he already has three errors. There is still room to improve for Erceg.

Erceg possess a huge offensive upside. That lands him as the Milwaukee Brewers number ten prospect on MLB Pipeline. He was selected by the Crew in the second round of the 2016 draft and his bat has dazzled since then. At only 22, he is yet another piece in the future infield puzzle.

Defensively, though he may seem to be a question mark, his AFL performance could just be an outlier. In his first full season in 2017, Erceg showed out fairly well defensively. But, his calling card is his bat. He has the arm for third base, showcased by him being a closing pitcher in college, his glove just needs to mature a bit.

Though the defensive question mark leaves the thought that Orlando Arcia will have to cover the whole infield while Erceg and Keston Hiura lead the charge at the plate.

Obviously that is a joke. But, Erceg will figure things out with the glove. He had a solid season with the Carolina Mudcats in Class A. He even found himself playing for the Colorado Sky Sox by the end of the year, going four for ten at the plate.

Next: Carolina Mudcats season review

No doubt, Erceg will be a great bat in the middle of the lineup in the Milwaukee Brewers future. With some polishing, he could see Miller Park as early as next year. His type of potential just adds to the excitement of things to come in the organization.