Kyle Tucker’s first season with the Dodgers has already turned into a search for answers, and the biggest clue is buried in the mechanics of his swing.
According to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, Tucker has been spending a lot of time taking postgame batting practice, something he had never done before in his major league career. That kind of extra work says plenty on its own: Tucker is looking for anything that can get him back on track.
The Dodgers handed him four years and $240 million, so the expectations were always going to be heavy. Tucker has downplayed the added hype that comes with that deal, but the contract talk matters less than the production. So far this season, he simply hasn’t hit well enough for Los Angeles.
Gonzalez pointed to a very specific issue in Tucker’s swing. “It all comes down to Tucker's swing,” Gonzalez writes.
“It's longer and flatter than that of most hitters, a benefit in that it stays in the strike zone a lot longer, allowing him to consistently barrel pitches and maximize exit velocities. But because of that, it is also especially important for him to stay balanced with his lower half.
When he starts to drift forward while swinging, as he did so often at the start of this season, his bat leaves the strike zone quickly and, as a longtime talent evaluator said, 'his timing is screwed.'”
That problem has not appeared out of nowhere. Tucker also struggled in the second half last season while dealing with a hairline fracture in his right hand. The injury does not have to be tied directly to the swing issues, but it certainly did not help.
For now, Tucker is spending much of this season trying to rediscover the swing that made him such a dependable hitter throughout his MLB career. The Dodgers paid for a player they expected to be one of the game’s most consistent bats.
Tucker has that ability. He just hasn’t shown it yet.
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