Juan Lucena

Juan L. Lucena

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight' 155 lb.

• Born January 20, 1984 in El Tocuyo, Lara Venezuela

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Juan Lucena was a minor league infielder for six years, peaking at AA.

Lucena went 8 for 47 with a walk and a double for Carora in the 2002 Venezuelan Summer League. He hit .234/.287/.327 with 6 triples and 44 runs in 64 games for the 2003 DSL Cardinals. He made his US debut in 2004 and did far better, producing at a .332/.365/.439 clip with 35 runs and 30 RBI in 56 games for the Johnson City Cardinals while fielding .965 at SS. He led the Appalachian League in average, was 6th with 68 hits and was named the All-Star shortstop. Baseball America named him the #15 prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals chain .

Making his Venezuelan Winter League debut in 2004-2005, Juan hit .346 and slugged .404 for the Tigres de Aragua. He hit .301/.329/.349 for the 2005 Swing of the Quad Cities. Baseball America still listed him as St. Louis's #17 prospect and as the best defensive infielder in their chain. He was just 2 for 9 with a walk in winter ball for Aragua in 2005-2006. The following summer, he batted .288/.320/.347 for the St. Petersburg Cardinals. He went 8 for 30 with two walks for the 2006-2007 Tigres. Lucena struggled for the 2007 Springfield Cardinals (.257/.304/.333), splitting 2B with Jarrett Hoffpauir and backing up Juan Richardson at 3B, to end his US pro career. He remained active for Aragua for a couple more winters (2 for 14 in 2007-2008, 0 for 4 in 2008-2009), never doing as well as his first winter back home. He helped Venezuela win Gold in the 2010 South American Games.

In 447 minor league games, Lucena batted .279/.316/.350 with 216 runs and 176 RBI. He hit .306/.320/.358 with 23 runs and 20 RBI in 72 games in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Sources

• Baseball America
• Purapelota