Arauz (2-run, 1) and Sierra (solo, 2) hit back-to-back homers in the 5th inning of today's contest for the Woodpeckers.
Is Kyle Tucker rooming with AJ Reed??? What has happened to him in such a short period of time. He Showed well in spring training.
De La Cruz also homered. Good signs for all 3. Sierra sure has shown big power at times (11 HR in only 144 rookie league PA in 2016), and that combined with his defensive skills means he just needs to get his k rate to a reasonable level to profile as future big leaguer.
Tucker's swinging strike rate is up big time from last year in AAA. I watched a couple of his PA yesterday and he took some awful swings and looked really frustrated. Not sure what is going on with him.
According to the experts, he has a horrible attitude and he could care less about playing baseball. He walks around with his head hanging low and has absolutely zero energy, if only he cared more and would drink a few more energy drinks, he would then satisfy the masses.
I am sure an expert can provide a link. It has surely been stated on this forum on several occasions. I am not an expert, therefore I am not the link.
Mostly I have read and heard that he lacks energy and some have questioned whether or not he really wants to play baseball. He has been called stoic and lacks fire. I don't think anyone thinks he is a punk or skips out on practice. There have been some reports. There was an article last year where it was discussed. A lot of it is discussed indirectly. For example: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...ed-talk-muted-Astros-just-want-a-13625804.php https://www.chron.com/sports/astros...e-Tucker-to-minor-league-camp-to-13683206.php I was surprised that there was debate over his fire or desire. It is body language and personality. If he becomes a good big league player it will all be forgotten. If he fails it will be pointed out as part of the reason why he failed. I had someone that works for the Astros tell me that there are people in the coaching and front office that are worried about how he carries himself. No one seems to think he is a bad kid, just very passive and rubs some the wrong way.
This is my problem with make-up concerns. I'm guessing there are a lot of false positives regarding detecting make-up issues that makes the data near useable. The Ringer had an article a month or two ago that showed guys that were called "questionable" in Reds scouting reports outperformed "battlers" and "competitors". Guys that were "soft" outperforned players with "focus". For the A.J. Reed fans, guys that were described as "fat" outperformed the "quick". I'm not sure who the Astros use to make judgements on make-up, but I would not trusts scouts to make these calls especially if they use to be in the Reds organization. That said, it would not surprise me if Tucker is sulking or pissed off at the moment. He'll either get over it or he won't. He'll either hit or he won't. Most likely, his ability to hit will determine if he can hit and not whether he's soft, weak, or a leader.
From Hinch in March 2018 in one of those articles: I'm going to take Hinch's word for it. I'm also not going to bother making evaluations on his daily stats until June.
Express reel off 6 straight hits (all scoring) in the 1st. Fisher and Tucker with a double each, Taylor Jones with a homer. Aside from Tucker’s .424, every player in their lineup has an ops of .769 or higher. In Corpus Osvaldo Duarte with his 2nd HR of the season. Breakout watch in effect.
We don't really know one way or the other. We do know they've asked him to tweak his swing, so how much that plays into his performance so far...?
