Subscribe
Follow Us
Kyle Tucker's breakout 2021 season helped the Houston Astros win their third pennant in five years. He earned MVP votes in manager Dusty Baker's first full season at the helm.
So far this season, though, Tucker has looked anything but the slugger that hit 30 home runs with an OPS of .917 in 140 games last season. He is hitting .087 in 13 games so far. His OPS of .410 gives him an OPS+ of 24, a drop of 123 points from where the 25-year-old ended last season.
Per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Baker said that he is not worried at all about Tucker, though the Astros' right fielder is assuredly frustrated.
“Tuck is a slow starter,” Baker said prior to the game. “That’s why I was trying to [play] him as much as I could in Spring Training, but I’m not worried about Tuck. Like I said, Tuck is probably worried about himself. Everybody likes to get hits, I don't care who you are. Nobody likes 0-fers.”
Tucker went on to record no hits in four at-bats in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. He got off to a slow start last year before becoming a star for the Astros. Baker knows what to do to help him get his groove back.
“Just try to relieve as much pressure off of him as I can and let him be himself and the hits will start falling. You know something, when you're going bad, you need a blooper or bad-hop grounder.”
The Astros have not gotten off to a great start so far this season. They are 6-7 thanks to Kyle Tucker's struggles and Jose Altuve's hamstring injury. Great starts to the season from Justin Verlander and Jeremy Peña have been very helpful for Houston. They have struggled so far but still have yet to gain their full form.
