Don’t look now, but a much-maligned Dodger is on a hot streak.
Los Angeles right fielder Kyle Tucker’s batting average is back above .250, a threshold he hadn’t seen since late May.
He accomplished the feat with a 3-for-5 performance Monday night, but that’s far from the only big game the $240 million man has had at the plate recently.
Tucker is riding a strong wave these last 10 games, which come at an ideal time, as on June 2, his batting average was .232, the lowest it’s been for much of the year.
Tucker’s 10-game hot streak
In his last 10 games, though, he’s hitting .412/.524/.529/1.053, including a double and a home run.
He has four multi-hit games, including his first four-hit game of the season. That 4-for-4 performance came against the Padres on July 2 and also included a walk and that double.
True, he’s had four games being held hitless in this span, but he’s still getting on base, having been walked at least once in three of those games.
And in one of them — a matchup with the Athletics on July 1 — he actually ended the day 0-for-0, as he was walked four times.
Tucker’s walk rate of 13.2% is one of his strengths, as it puts him in the top 10% of baseball, per Baseball Savant.
So what’s changed for the slugger?
Kyle Tucker is feeling ‘a lot better
Tucker told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson after his four-hit game that he’s recently “felt a lot better” when hitting.
“I’m seeing the ball a lot better, putting the barrel on the ball … even on some of the outs I had, like in Sacramento, I was fine with. The swing feels a lot better,” he explained. “Even my takes have been a lot better, so I’m happy with those.”
In that July 2 media scrum, Tucker added that he was “just trying to continue that, make it consistent.”
Given his 3-for-5 performance Monday night, this could be a turning point for the Dodgers’ biggest offseason acquisition.
Do you think Kyle Tucker is finally settling in as a Dodger?
