Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker has spent several nights this season taking extra swings after teammates had showered and left the ballpark, a routine he said was rare for him before this year, according to the report. His batting average after the Dodgers’ 80th game stood at .234, a mark Tucker contrasted with his usual standards: “I normally don’t hit .220 for 80 games,” he said.
Tucker signed a four-year, $240 million contract that delivered the highest annual salary in baseball history, according to the report. Over the previous five seasons he had never finished June with a batting average below .254 or an OPS under .811; by the same point last year he was hitting .291/.395/.537. This season, entering a late June series in San Diego, he was at .234/.333/.374, an OPS that ranked 112th among 154 qualifiers.
The recent stretch has shown signs of correction. In the 10 games after that start, Tucker was 14-for-38 and had as many walks as strikeouts (eight), the report said. The span included a four-walk game followed by a four-hit game, a home run that capped a nine-pitch at-bat and a pinch-hit single off Adrian Morejon.
Despite Tucker’s slow start and absences from key pitchers, the Dodgers entered the period with baseball’s highest winning percentage and best run differential. Their offense ranked first in OPS, first in weighted runs created plus and second in runs per game, all before Tucker’s recent uptick, according to the report. Teoscar Hernandez said, “This team is going to be a problem. For real.”
The issues, evaluators say, are mechanical. Tucker’s swing is longer and flatter than most hitters’, a trait that can yield high exit velocities but requires lower-body balance. When he drifts forward his bat leaves the strike zone quickly and, as a longtime talent evaluator put it, “his timing is screwed,” the report said.
Tucker downplayed the weight of his contract on performance: “I don’t care about that,” he said. He also noted improvement in his approach: “Even my takes have been a lot better,” the report added.
