SWING STUDY
How one minor adjustment was the key to unlocking Kyle Tucker
Sep 28, 2020, 2:58 pm
SWING STUDY
In early August, 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez was nearing a return to the Astros lineup, and Astros manager Dusty Baker faced a decision.
Josh Reddick or Kyle Tucker.
At that time, the answer wasn't clear. Statistically, Reddick was outperforming Tucker, Reddick had a more diverse batted ball profile that made him less predictable than Tucker, and Reddick provided more value defensively than Tucker. Aside from Tucker's lofty prospect billing, there really wasn't an objective reason for Tucker to play over Reddick.
Just shy of two months down the line, if faced with the same decision, the answer would clearly be Tucker, and it's not close. So what changed?
Image via: AT&T SportsNet/Screenshot.
On the left is an at-bat early in the season when the Dodgers came to Houston. The right hand side photo is from last week when the Diamondbacks came to town. As you can see, Tucker closed off his stance. It's crazy to think that this minute of a change can lead to such crazy results, but that's what happened.
Here is a swing against Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen on August 6th. The offset camera angle makes Tucker's stance look a little more closed off than it really is, as this is the portion early in the year where he hadn't yet closed his stance off. Gallen throws an 83 MPH breaking ball on the outside part of the dish. It really isn't a great pitch, as it backs up on him a little bit and he hangs it, but Tucker blows out his front side, rendering him unable to do anything with that pitch other than foul it off and live to fight another day.
Now, here's an at bat against Gallen after Tucker adjusted his stance. This pitch is more center cut and hung even worse, but Tucker does something he was unable to do early in the year: drive it the other way. His closed off stance keeps his front hip from blowing out completely, and he stays on the ball and drives it down the line for a double. Notice how the ball is backspun down the line with true ball flight, not slicing, that shows just how well he drove it.
August 20th, the last game of the Seattle series before the Astros headed to Colorado, was the first time Tucker's stance was clearly closed off. Entering that game, Tucker was batting .192/.234/.329. He ended the season batting .268/.325/.512. That is quite the turnaround.
On August 6th, the day of that first swing against Gallen, Tucker had a hard hit % of 38.5%, a contact rate of 75.6%, a K% of 29.3%, and a BB% of 7.3%.
Tucker finished with a hard hit % of 44.5%. That 6% increase is the difference between the 45th percentile amongst hitters and the 78th percentile. Wow. Tucker also ended the year with a 79.5% contact percentage, a 4% increase. That significant increase helped him cut down on his strikeouts, as he ended the year with a 21.2% K%. His BB% stayed the same, as he ended at 7.1%, but three strikeouts for every walk is way better than four strikeouts for every walk.
All in all, the stance change gave Tucker more plate coverage. He still has the fast hands and instincts to react to pitches on the inner third, but instead of hooking them foul like he did, he's been keeping them fair. On top of that, Tucker now has plate coverage on the outer third of the plate, making him a more dangerous and consistent hitter. With one small change, Tucker went from a platoon bat, at best, to well above average amongst nearly every indicator of success.
Rookie Cam Smith homered on his first two at-bats and had a career-best four RBIs to power the Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
CAM SMOKES ONE!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/hI9YnN90Fg
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 19, 2025
Smith connected off Kyle Hart (2-1) on a three-run homer in the second inning to put the Astros on top and added a solo shot off the lefty in the fourth that made it 5-2.
TAKE 2.#BUILTFORTHIS pic.twitter.com/WA1aQgAi9e
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 19, 2025
San Diego's Luis Arraez, who had three hits, sent a high fastball from Bryan King into the first row in right field for a two-run homer that cut the lead to 5-4 in the seventh.
Jake Meyers tied a season high with three hits for the Astros, capped by a run-scoring single in the eighth to give them some insurance.
Houston starter Ryan Gusto (2-1) gave up nine hits and two runs in five innings. Josh Hader pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.
The Padres went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
The Astros trailed by 1 with two on and two outs in the second inning when Smith sent his first home run into the seats in left field to make it 3-1.
An RBI single by Yainer Diaz extended the lead to 4-1 in the third.
Oscar Gonzalez cut the lead to 4-2 with an RBI single on a ground ball with one out in the fourth.
Smith’s second home run came on a full count in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 5-2.
Hart yielded 10 hits and five runs in five innings for his first loss this season after the team won each of his first three starts.
Smith's first home run that put the Astros on top for good.
Smith was 1 for 10 in Houston’s three-game series against St. Louis this week before breaking out Friday night.
Houston RHP Hayden Wesneski (1-1, 4.00 ERA) opposes RHP Michael King (3-0, 2.42) when the series continues Saturday night.