Eric Lance Lauer was born on June 3, 1995, he is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is 6 feet 3 inches tall.
He played college baseball for the Kent State Golden Flashes of Kent State University. Lauer made his MLB debut with the San Diego Padres in 2018 and was traded to the Brewers before the 2020 season.
The San Diego Padres selected Lauer in the first round, with the 25th overall selection, of the 2016 MLB draft. He signed with the Padres, receiving a $2 million signing bonus.
Lauer made his professional debut with the Arizona Padres of the Rookie-level Arizona League, and received promotions to the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League and the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Class A Midwest League. He finished the 2016 season with a 1–1 record and 2.03 ERA. He also had 37 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched.
On November 27, 2019, the Padres traded Lauer and Luis Urías to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Trent Grisham, Zach Davies, and cash considerations or a player to be named later.
On July 11, 2020, Lauer was placed on the injured list after coming into close contact with somebody who tested positive for COVID-19. On July 26, 2020, Lauer was activated from the injured list and appeared in his first game against the Chicago Cubs.
On May 26, 2021, Lauer hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of Chris Paddack of the Padres. He had a 3.19 ERA in 20 games started during the 2021 season.