Tucker tries to build on breakout season
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Toward the end of October, Kyle Tucker opened the Instagram app on his iphone. Notifications filtered in, and he had no idea why. The Astros tagged Tucker in a graphic alongside two major league mainstays: Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa. The team congratulated the trio as Gold Glove Award finalists.
If only Tucker had known. “I was kind of taken aback by that,” he said.
Even the end of Tucker’s breakout 2020 season arrived by surprise. In a year when so many of the organization’s centerpieces cratered, Tucker cemented himself as one for the immediate future. Initially, he received everyday playing time only by virtue of Aledmys Diaz’s hamstring injury and Yordan Alvarez’s battle with COVID-19. Alvarez’s subsequent knee surgery forced the Astros to trust Tucker, their touted yet unproven prodigy.
He emerged as the feel-good story of an otherwise miserable regular season. Tucker’s performance affirmed the long-held faith from an organization that refused to trade him at countless deadlines.
Tucker slugged .512 and accrued an .837 OPS in 228 plate appearances, carrying a lineup beset by underperformance. Tucker slashed .317/.386/.619 in his final 140 plate appearances. He averaged a 91.2 mph exit velocity on batted balls in play — 28th among 142 qualified hitters — and struck out in just 20.2 percent of his atbats. The major league average is 22.7 percent.
He also stole eight bases and led the majors with six triples. No one else had more than four.
“I kind of figured it out (during) the second half, kind of fixed my swing with some stuff and just got all-around more comfortable out there,” Tucker said Tuesday. “The second half of the season was really how I play and how I want to play. I’m just trying to build off that. Kind of my mindset going into this year is build off the second half of last year, because I feel like I did a pretty good job then.”
Tucker blossomed at the most opportune time. Two-thirds of the Astros’ opening-day outfield left in free agency following the 2020 season. Houston brought Michael Brantley back on a two-year deal, but signed no other outfielder to a major league deal, signaling the comfort and confidence it has in Tucker as an everyday player.
For a player with as much prospect hype as any Astros minor leaguer in recent memory, the year affords Tucker a different objective in spring training. These six weeks in West Palm Beach are often a breeding ground for outsized expectations concerning the organization’s top prospects. Alex Bregman endured it in 2016. Forrest Whitley continues to feel the same pressure. If social media chatter is any indication, Pedro Leon seems next in line.
It was in spring training prior to the 2018 season that major leaguers gave Tucker the nickname “Ted” after a draft analyst compared his swing to that of Ted Williams. Tucker responded with a torrid offensive performance in Grapefruit League games. Calls for his promotion began and never ended.
Tucker’s next two seasons demonstrated the folly of falling in love with spring training statistics. Players can win jobs here, but keeping them is another matter entirely. Tucker turned in just a .652 OPS in his first 144 major league plate appearances. Former manager A.J. Hinch lamented Tucker’s lack of pregame preparation or routine — a concern Tucker is still working to alleviate alongside Brantley.
“We do our throwing program together. We hit in the cages together. We do everything,” Tucker said. “Watching him the past couple years has been great. I think it’s really helped me. He’s just such a professional guy, just the way he goes about his business.”
Last spring, Tucker did not record a hit in his first 15 Grapefruit League at-bats. He fielded questions about the slump in these meaningless games, perhaps only because of his uneven major league past. It obviously did not hinder him when the regular season finally began.
“Whether I’m trying to make the team or already on the team or not, I just try and get ready for the season in any way I can,” Tucker said.
Tucker can now accomplish the objectives in relative peace. No longer must he worry about impressing a big league coach or whether he could break camp with the major league team. His spot on the 26-man roster is more than secured. Tucker can focus on the finer points of his game, perhaps pushing him over the one hurdle he couldn’t clear last year.
“Kind of wish I won (the Gold Glove), obviously,” Tucker said. “That’s kind of a big thing for a player. Just getting nominated was cool. I’ve got a couple more years — hopefully, a long time playing — so hopefully, I get a couple in there.”