Ever since his breakout season in 2021, Kyle Tucker has been the model of consistency in the Astros’ starting lineup. After the departure of fan-favorite George Springer to the Toronto Blue Jays at the conclusion of the 2020 season, Tucker has filled in quite nicely in right field. He’s been named to two All-Star Games, has won a Silver Slugger, and has won a Gold Glove for his defense. He finished fifth in AL MVP voting last year after leading the American League in RBIs with 112. And this year, he’s off to another superb start—a start the Astros’ offense sorely needs.
Kyle Tucker was drafted fifth overall by the Astros in 2015 out of high school; Tucker went to H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida. Tucker is the younger brother of former Astros player, Preston Tucker, who played for the Astros in 2015 and 2016. Over those two seasons, Preston hit .219 with 17 home runs and 41 RBIs. Fun fact: The Astros’ second pick in the 2015 draft was a compensatory pick for failing to sign Brady Aiken, a starting pitcher out of Cathedral Catholic High School, the year prior. With that pick, the Astros selected LSU shortstop Alex Bregman. He has since manned third base for the Astros since the start of the 2017 season.
In 2021, Kyle Tucker’s first full major league season, he hit .294/.359/.557 with 30 home runs, 37 doubles, 92 RBIs, and 83 runs scored in 140 games. The next year, in 2022, he hit .257/.330/.478 with 30 home runs, 28 doubles, 107 RBIs, 25 steals, and 71 runs scored in 150 games. In 2023, Tucker also hit .284/.369/.517 with 29 home runs, 37 doubles, 30 steals, and 97 runs scored in 157 games.
This season, Kyle Tucker leads the Astros in WAR with 2.1. In 34 games, Tucker leads the American League with 12 home runs. He also leads the team in RBIs (26), on-base percentage (.391), and slugging percentage (.574). Tucker is tied for second on the team in steals (with Jeremy Peña with 6), and he’s also third on the team in hits with 38. He’s also getting the job done with runners in scoring position, as he’s collected 10 hits in 34 at-bats with four doubles, 10 walks, and 10 RBIs. He hasn’t made any errors while playing right field, and has posted one outs above average so far this year.
Kyle Tucker is hitting the ball to all fields and more on a line than ever before in his career. His hard-hit percentage is the highest of his career at 52.3%. His line-drive percentage is a steady 26.8%, the highest it’s been in three years. He’s not hitting as many ground balls as in years past, as his ground ball percentage is the lowest of his career at 26.8%, a remarkable 12% drop from last year. And he’s been able to get ball more in the air, as his fly ball percentage is a career high 42%, almost 10 percentage points higher than last year. He’s also hitting the ball to the opposite field a career high 21.4%, a seven percent increase from last year. So far this season, he has 14 hits to the opposite field, according to Statcast.
His Statcast statistics are quite impressive. At the conclusion of Friday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers, Tucker is in the 90th percentile in Sweet-Spot% (42%), 96th percentile in Chase % (18%), and in the 98th percentile in walk % (16.5%). Like he has in years past, he’s doing his most damage against the fastball, hitting .256 against that pitch, collecting 21 hits, including three doubles and nine home runs.
Recently, Tucker has been on a home run tear his last five games. He’s hit four home runs in that span, including hitting a home run in three consecutive games. Unfortunately, this is a microcosm of how the season has gone for the Astros, as they’ve lost three of the four games in which Tucker homered. Also, a testament to the Astros’ offense this year: three of his four most recent home runs have been solo shots. The Astros’ woes with runners in scoring position continue.
Kyle Tucker has picked up right where he left off last year. His power stroke continues to befuddle opposing pitchers. He continues to have excellent plate discipline. His defense in right field continues to be stellar. Astros fans hope Jim Crane opens up his checkbook to extend the beloved right fielder, as Tucker is due to hit free agency at the conclusion of the 2025 season. However, for now, fans can rest easy knowing that Tucker will continue his offensive outburst for the rest of the season.
