Lucas May

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Lucas James May

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Biographical Information[edit]

Lucas May made his major league debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2010.

May set his high school's record for career doubles (35) and made All-State for Missouri in 2003. The Los Angeles Dodgers chose him in the 8th round of the 2003 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Mitch Webster.

May debuted for the GCL Dodgers, hitting .252/.350/.302 with 11 steals in 12 tries in 2003. A shortstop, he led the league at his position with 143 assists but also made 18 errors in 48 games. In 2004, he batted .286/.329/.449 for the Ogden Raptors with 37 strikeouts in 147 AB.

Lucas was unimpressive with the 2005 Columbus Catfish, producing at a .229/.267/.345 rate with 28 errors in 99 games and 92 strikeouts in 385 AB. His power was improving, as he went deep 9 times and drove in 53. After fielding .893 at shortstop, he moved to the outfield in June. May continued his development with Columbus in 2006, hitting .273/.332/.493 with 14 stolen bases (in 16 tries) and 18 home runs. His 82 RBI led the Catfish.

Switching positions yet again, May became a catcher in 2007. He hit .256/.313/.465 with 25 home runs, 81 runs, 89 RBI and 107 strikeouts for the Inland Empire 66ers. He led his team in home runs and RBI and was tied for second in the California League in circuit clouts, one behind Tommy Everidge. Only John Lindsey hit more home runs in the Dodgers farm system that year. May did well defensively at his new position, leading the league's catchers with a .994 fielding percentage. Adam Moore beat him out for All-Star honors. On the other hand, he was charged with 31 passed balls. May was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster that off-season.

May batted .230/.294/.403 with 13 home runs and 112 strikeouts in 392 AB for the 2008 Jacksonville Suns. His 24 passed balls led the Southern League. He hit .183 for the Surprise Rafters in the Arizona Fall League.

Back at Jacksonville in 2009, May hit .306/.390/.468 in 68 games. He was a last-minute addition to Team USA for the 2009 Baseball World Cup, replacing Michael McKenry. He wound up with the team's best OPS (.407/.429/.852), beating out Baseball World Cup MVP Justin Smoak, and replaced Jason Castro as the USA's starting catcher as the tourney advanced. In the Gold Medal game, his three-run blast off Norge Luis Vera in the 2nd inning put the US ahead in an eventual 10-5 win over Cuba. He lost All-Star honors at catcher to Sidney de Jong of the Netherlands.

Luke split the early part of 2010 with the Lookouts (4 for 24, 2B, 2 BB) and Albuquerque Isotopes (.296/.352/.496). On July 28th, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals alongside pitcher Elisaul Pimentel in return for veteran outfielder Scott Podsednik. He hit .275/.362/.516 in 24 games for the Omaha Royals after the deal, then was a September call-up.

In his major league debut, he started at catcher and hit 7th for the Royals against the Detroit Tigers. He did not fare well, grounding into a double play against Rick Porcello in his first at-bat then striking out and grounding out. He also had two passed balls before leaving for PH Brayan Pena. He started his MLB career 0 for 7 with three strikeouts, but then managed to go 7 for his next 30 at-bats to finish at .189 with 6 RBIs in 12 games. This would be his only big league action however.

May split 2011 between Omaha and the Reno Aces of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, as he began to move from team to team. 2012 was with the Buffalo Bisons, a New York Mets affiliate, and 2013 with the Indianapolis Indians, in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. In his final season as a pro, in 2014, he was in the Milwaukee Brewers system, playing 9 games with the AA Huntsville Stars and 15 for the AAA Nashville Sounds. Over his last four seasons, his highest batting average was .238.

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