Rockies Trade For Jonathan Lucroy: Fantasy impact

The Rockies were in desperate need of a catcher. But with little available on the trade market, they had to settle for Jonathan Lucroy.

The Colorado Rockies offense is known to take advantage of their home park, Coors Field. With the high altitude, batted balls seem to fly out of the park at a much faster rate. However, in order to do that, contact has to be made. Unfortunately, some of the Rockies hitters weren’t doing that.

More specifically, it the Rockies catchers that were skewing the “Coors Effect.” The team currently has four catchers on their 40-man roster, two of them are on the 25-man roster. None of them are hitting over .251. Then again, if they were hitting better, a trade wouldn’t have been necessary.

With the obvious need for an upgrade in this position, the Rockies looked to the other 29 teams for an available player. Most of the teams are set at catcher and aren’t looking to shop them or have a bad catcher with little value (Diamondbacks).

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The one team that stood out was the Texas Rangers. The Rangers traded for Jonathan Lucroy at last year’s trade deadline. In the final 47 games, he hit 11 home runs, 31 RBI and scored 19 times while hitting .276/.345/.539.

Entering the 2017 season, Lucroy was a ninth round pick and the No. 3 catcher drafted in ESPN leagues. This season, though, has been a completely different year. Lucroy is hitting .242 with just four homers, 27 RBI and 27 runs scored in 77 games (281 at-bats). This is why I always wait for a catcher.

The Rangers are so far out of the American League West race, along with the other three teams, that they are willing to shop some of their expiring contracts.

Maybe the move to Colorado will help Lucroy get back on track. For his career, Lucroy is 17-for-70 (.243) with one home run, seven RBI, 11 runs scored and a .299 OBP. Let’s hope that hitting in a better lineup (compared to the Milwaukee years) can help improve his Coors Field numbers.

To clear up the details, Tony Wolters was the Rockies starting catcher. In 66 games, he is hitting .251 with zero home runs, 14 RBI and 30 runs scored. Ryan Hanigan is the backup and hitting .250 with two homers, 11 RBI and eight runs in 23 games.

As for the Rangers, it looks like Robinson Chirinos will continue to play behind the plate. He has 12 home runs, 26 RBI and 26 runs scored with a .221/.303/.522 line in 152 plate appearances. Chirinos is owned in just 1.5 percent of ESPN leagues.

Now that he will be getting more playing time, he is worth a speculative add in deeper leagues.

Next: Chris Owings lands on DL

Lucroy went from almost 99 percent ownership at the start of the season down to 74.4. I think the move can only help his value. So, if you need a catcher and Lucroy is somehow available, I would take the risk for a week or two.

If you’re making a run for the championship, like the Rockies, you need all the help you can get.