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Kyle is the younger brother of former Astros OF Preston Tucker
In 2015, Tucker graduated from Plant High School in Tampa with a commitment to the University of Florida. His brother, Preston, was a Gator.
Entering Kyle's last game as a senior at Plant High, he had pulled even with his brother, both having 29 career homers. But, on that night, in front of a crowd that included a throng of scouts and a few general managers, Tucker rose to the occasion. He collected four hits and belted two home runs in a 13-2 victory. The homers gave Tucker 31 for his career, pushing him past his brother and into Plant’s record book.
In 2015, Tucker was Baseball America's High School Player of the Year. And he also was named Florida's Gatorade Player of the Year.
While Tucker has true five-tool potential, his physical tools are just one part of his overall package. He also earns praise for his makeup and successfully balanced Advanced Placement classes with baseball to post a 5.33 weighted GPA.
Kyle plays the game with an old-school mentality.
But some scouts don't like his even-keeled approach, describing him as a low-energy guy.
June 2015: Tucker was the Astros first round pick (#5 overall), out of Plant High School in Tampa, Florida. And he signed for a bonus of $4 million, via scout John Martin.
In 2016, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Kyle as the 4th-best prospect in the Astros' organization. He was at #2, behind only RHP Francis Martes, in the offseason before 2017 spring training. He was at #2 again both in the spring of 2018 and again in 2019, behind only Forrest Whitley both years.
While Tucker might fill out somewhat, most observers expect he’ll remain lean and retain wiry strength, and he earned comparisons with Christian Yelich. He projects as an above-average hitter with above-average power, with an expected ceiling of 20-25 homers.
In 2017, Tucker represented the Astros in the All-Star Futures game.
September 2017: Tucker was named the Astros' Minor League Player of the Year.
2017: Tucker was invited to play in the AFL Fall Stars Game.
March 2, 2018: One of the most notable stories in the first couple of weeks of Astros camp has been 21-year-old Kyle Tucker, the sweet-swinging, lefthanded-hitting outfielder. While fans' expectations have been raised to the point they're wondering if Tucker will make the club out of camp, his teammates have even been showing Tucker some love by taking down his nameplate and writing "Ted" above his locker—an homage to Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Let's pump the brakes.
Nicknamed “Ted” for his resemblance to a young Ted Williams, Tucker even took swings as Williams for a PBS documentary on the Splendid Splinter.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch, when asked about Tucker's chances to make the team, gushed with praise about baseball's No. 16 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, but said Tucker won't be breaking camp with the big league club.
"He's a good-looking young player who is doing a great job of making a great first impression," Hinch said. "He's got some things to learn, he's got some things to work on. He's a great talent, and I think that's where it starts and ends. I think his contribution to the Major League level will come at some point if he continues to progress, but it's not going to come at the end of the month no matter what he does. We feel it's just not in the best interest for him.
"Now, he can make it more interesting. That timeline always moves depending on your readiness, but that's not defined by the first two weeks of spring. I'm proud of him, I'm happy he's doing what he's doing. The Kyle Tucker show will join the big leagues at some point if he continues to do what he's doing, but he's not currently in competition to make the team."
Tucker said he has been working on pitch selection this spring, which is the next step in his development. Hinch said pitch recognition, attacking early in counts and defending himself with two strikes are some things Tucker needs to improve upon.
"Like with a lot of hitters . . . we've seen this happen with [Carlos] Correa and [Alex] Bregman and George [Springer] . . . when they get closer to the big leagues, there's a lot of fine-tuning that goes on and a lot of that circles around tougher game plans that start to come about when the regular season starts," Hinch said. "When you start facing competition in-season, those are things he'll finish off in the big leagues at some point. I'm certainly happy with what he's doing."
Tucker was one of just 10 players in all of the Minor Leagues to record at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 2017. He's likely going to start 2018 back at Corpus Christi, which means he could be an option for Houston at some point this season. The Astros, of course, could stand to benefit financially down the road by pushing back Tucker's service time clock well into the season, but his development is front and center in spring decisions.
"Whether he starts at Double-A or Triple-A will be determined by the organization, but he's got a chance to do a lot of things in the game," Hinch said. "If the timeline is sooner rather than later, then we'll address it. It's not right now." (B McTaggart - MLB.com - March 2, 2018)
July 7, 2018: Kyle Tucker, the next in line from among the Astros' stream of can't-miss prospects, shook off three strikeouts to begin his Major League career by coming through with a single and a bases-loaded walk in the Astros' 12-6 win over the White Sox. "It was awesome," Tucker said. "I had a lot of fun tonight and we came up with the win, so that makes it even better. Just being in the big leagues is awesome, especially this team."
The Astros called up Tucker, the No. 8 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, with the intent of making him their starting left fielder. He received a huge ovation each time he stepped to the plate in his debut at Minute Maid Park, but White Sox starter James Shields struck him out three times in a row.
Tucker lined a single to right in the seventh off reliever Bruce Rondon for his first hit and drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth for his first Major League RBI. "It was kind of a relief to put a ball forward after the first three strikeouts," Tucker said with a smile. "You're going to strike out at times. You're going to have some bad ABs, and bad games, and you have to grind through it and move on to the next AB."
Tucker was hitting .306/.371/.520 with 14 homers and 66 RBIs in 80 games at Triple-A Fresno. Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Tucker will play the corner outfield spots, but mostly left field, where the Astros have started five different players.
"There's only one first day and we've seen a lot of really good ones come up the last couple of years, at least while I've been here," Hinch said. "It's special. It takes you back to your first days. Certainly, it's an exciting day for Kyle and his family. Our team got better by adding him to the mix. We'll give him the next test in the big leagues and see where it takes him."
Tucker, 21, has a smooth lefthanded swing and continues to develop power. He figures to quickly become a part of the Astros' young core of position-player stars, including Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman. Tucker was drafted fifth overall in the 2015 draft, three picks after Bregman went second overall. They were both drafted by the Astros on the day Correa made his Major League debut. (B McTaggart - MLB.com - July 7, 2018)
2019 season: With his career-best 34 homers and 30 steals in 125 games at Triple-A Round Rock, Tucker became the first Minor Leaguer to record three consecutive 20-20 seasons since Greg Vaughn (1987-1989). The 22-year-old outfielder had five multi-homer games and hit 11 of his homers during 28 games in May.
2020 Season: Tucker hit .268/.325/.512 with 12 doubles, 6 triples, 9 homers, 42 RBIs and 8 stolen bases in his first stint of everyday play. With that consistent spot in the lineup, Tucker got more comfortable with big league pitching and his production increased at a rapid rate.
In the last 36 games of the regular season, Tucker was scorching hot, hitting .317 with an OPS of 1.005 while batting 6th or 7th in the lineup. (Matthew Kunkel - Dec. 24, 2020)
Tucker was tasked with the very heavy role of replacing the offensive production that George Springer took with him North of the Border. Frankly, Tucker started out a little slow at the dish.
If you took out that performance prior to the start of May, Tucker led the American League with a .325 batting average, .391 on-base percentage and .609 slugging percentage.
Tucker wasn’t only getting the job done at the plate. He finished the season in the top-three for a Gold Glove in right field, while many fans considered Joey Gallo’s Gold Glove win over Tucker as highway robbery.
Gallo played a very solid outfield, but played little of that in right field after a trade that sent him from Arlington to the Bronx. Regardless, Tucker was extremely reliable in the field. He was tied for the American League lead with 11 defense runs saved. With going head-to-head with National League teams (and with the Atlanta Braves in the World Series), Tucker proved that he could even patrol center field when needed.
2021 Postseason:
In the postseason, the Astros’ offensive performance, as a unit, was perplexing
Tucker slashed .279/.333/.541 through 61 postseason at-bats. He lead players from both leagues with 15 postseason RBI. Throughout each series, he proved timely and effective in each facet of the game. He smacked four home runs, swiped five bases and put it all on the line of the defensive side of the ball in center field. (Christian Jaz Espinoza - Nov. 14, 2021)
Three days before the 2021 World Series, Kyle lost his grandfather, Dwayne, who was his biggest fan. Dwayne lived in South Florida, watching every single game his grandson played in.
Dwayne purchased whatever television subcription he needed, while some nights watching Kyle play until 3:00 a
Tucker’s grandfather passed away a few days before the start of the 2021 World Series, the biggest stage the 24-year-old had been on so far in his career. He didn’t tell many of his teammates, as he looked to keep it in the back of his mind and help the team.
“We were really close,” Tucker said regarding his grandfather. “He was a big part of my life.” The final months of Dwayne’s life were in hospice care, which left a life changing impact on the Tucker family.
“The people in (hospice) are so caring,” Tucker said. “They are really trying to help out the patient and the family in however way they can.” The Tucker family has already begun fundraising with events in the Tampa, Florida area, as their goal is to raise awareness and support families that need financial assistance in a challenging time.
“You really shouldn’t be worried about the financial aspect of it at that time in a person’s life or a family’s life,” Tucker said. “It is something that is personal for me and the rest of my family that we are happy to start.” (Kenny Van Doren - Feb. 24, 2022)
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