Round 27: Bobby Lucas, Jr., LHP, George Washington Unviersity

(from the GW Hatchet)

Baseball-Reference                                                                                                                 FanGraphs
MiLB                                                                                                                                             GW Bio

2011 Stats: 

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2011	23	Nationals	GULF	Rk	WSN	1	1	.500	1.69	11	0	5	0	0	1	21.1	14	7	4	0	15	0	29	0	0	4	92	1.359	5.9	0.0	6.3	12.2	1.93
1 Season						1	1	.500	1.69	11	0	5	0	0	1	21.1	14	7	4	0	15	0	29	0	0	4	92	1.359	5.9	0.0	6.3	12.2	1.93

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/12/2012.

Sean's one sentence analysis: The local lefty struck out a million batters at GW, but struggled getting anyone out that made contact with the ball.

Thoughts from the community:
"A five-year collegiate pitcher at GWU, Lucas appeared to be the pitching analog to the hitter that either goes deep or whiffs, averaging a little less than 11K and a little more than 11 hits per 9IP. Posted a 1.69ERA and struck 29 in 21.1IP in the GCL, so it's possible the coaches made a mechanical fix, but his advanced age (24) and hitters' unfamiliarity were also likely factors." - Luke Erickson, Nationals Prospects (@nats_prospects)


"Late round college senior draft picks from low-end Division I schools that happen to be co-located with the drafting organization may be the ultimate in long shots. Lucas tries to follow (and improve upon) his former teammate Josh Wilkie with the Nats organization after being taken in the 27th round. His first pro season was promising; in 21 1/3 innings of rookie-ball he gave up 14 hits and only 4 earned runs for a nifty looking 1.69 era. However he has warts: 15 walks in those 21+ innings for a rather pedestrian whip of 1.36. But most important is this; he was FAR too old for the GCL; of the 274 pitchers on the GCL rosters at opening day Lucas was the 259th oldest. He was nearly 3 years older than the average GCL player, and that makes a difference. I'd say he projects as a bullpen arm in 2012, probably in Hagerstown unless Potomac gets a bit thin." - Todd Boss, Nationals Arm Race (@toddeboss)

Previous analysis and notes:
Nats.com roundup: The 6-foot-4 left-hander struck out 11.92 batters per nine innings but went 2-8 with a 5.27 ERA in his first full season as a starter."
The Baltimore/Calvert Hall native's biggest critic is himself, according to Cory Weinberg of the GW Hatchet (4/21/11): "'I'm not overpowering. I really have to try to pitch. I can't rely on pure 'stuff.' I've embraced that more and more as I've gotten older so it's made me a better pitcher all around,' Lucas said. Lucas has developed his two-seam fastball, which darts and dives toward hitters, and complimented his repertoire with a slider that breaks in on right-handed batters. He has served Atlantic-10 hitters a steady diet of off-speed pitches, his four-seam fastball rarely breaking 90 miles per hour. 'Coming in from high school, where my fastball would get a lot of swings and misses, it was really demoralizing to come to college and see that your fastball isn't what it was, because everyone throws as hard,' Lucas said."

Lucas, Jr. signed with the Nats on June 16, 2011.