Kyle Tucker has underperformed expectations in the first half of his debut season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but things may be turning around for the superstar.
Over his last 15 games, Tucker is hitting .320/.433/.460, and he has now reached base nine consecutive times with four hits and five walks, dating back to the series finale against the Athletics. He’s been even better in the last week, hitting .417/.548/.583.
“Yeah, the last four games felt a lot better,” Tucker said. “Saw the ball really well, put the barrel on the ball, barreled up some balls, even some of the outs that I had in Sacramento, I was fine with. So swing feels a lot better, and even my takes have been a lot better, so I’m happy with those.”
Tucker had his worst month of the season in June when he hit .233/.330/.349, which was significantly worse than the already average months he had in April and May. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts continued to have faith in Tucker because of the work he was putting in, and now that seems to be paying off.
Tucker made some recent adjustments to his swing while in the batting cages in Sacramento, and that has finally unlocked him more.
“Just seeing the ball a lot better, kind of cleaned up my swing a little bit,” Tucker said. “It’s more in plane, timing and everything. So just try to continue that, make it consistent. Done a good job with that over the last four games.”
Tucker credited both his improved swing mechanics and a better approach at the plate for his recent run of success.
“Previously, earlier in at-bats, if I was swinging, I’d foul it off,” Tucker said. “Recently, I’ve just been able to put the barrel on the ball a little bit better.
“So kind of a little bit of both, in the sense that if they throw it on the corners, you’re right off the edge, I’m able to take them, but when they do come over the plate with a pitch, I’m able to put in play and been able to barrel it up recently, so a little bit of both with that.”
Dave Roberts sees improvement from Kyle Tucker
Roberts has also seen the improvement in Tucker’s approach, and the skipper believes this is the best the right fielder has looked in his time with the Dodgers.
“Yesterday, taking four walks, he’s not chasing, he’s hunting his pitch, and that’s his DNA,” Roberts said. “And so he did it tonight, sprayed the ball the other way, pulled a ball for a hit, hitting it hard. So he’s just using the whole field, swinging at strikes, taking balls, and that’s what makes him great.”
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