Jonathan Lucroy could be playing in games by end of week

Just under a month ago, it was reported that Brewers catcher and All Star Jonathan Lucroy would miss 4-6 weeks of spring training due to a hamstring injury. It seems the shorter side of that projection will be more accurate. Like, very short.

Ron Roenicke told Adam McCalvy today that Lucroy could even see Cactus League game action by the end of this week, just three weeks after pitchers and catchers reported.

Jonathan Lucroy could be playing Cactus League games by the end of the week, RR said.

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 9, 2015

That, obviously, is great news for the Brewers. Lucroy getting prepared as early as possible in spring will ensure that he is ready to start the season ready and raring to go a month from now. The hamstring injury never seemed to cause any doubt he would miss the beginning of the season, but having Lucroy able to shake the rust off now should help.

Furthermore, it will also allow Lucroy to get some more practice in at first base. Though the Brewers want to let Adam Lind try his hand against left-handers, first, it seems likely Lucroy will get a good amount of playing time at first when the team faces southpaws. While the primary reason is maintaining a platoon advantage, this method also serves the purpose of keeping Lucroy in more games while saving his knees. He started 16 games at first last year and nine in 2013.

Lucroy played in a team-high 153 games last year while being named to his first All Star game and finishing fourth in NL MVP voting. He hit .301/.373/.465 with 13 homers and a league-high 53 doubles. Another season like that would go a long ways to helping cement the Brewers as contenders in 2015.