Of all the on-field attributes that right fielder Kyle Tucker’s teammates and coaches could rave about, his disciplined approach at the plate draws some of the most praise.
“Kyle’s one of the elite offensive players in our game,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said last week in St. Louis. “It shows up every day. Maybe it’s not always a home run or three hits or whatever, but the pitch selection is always so good . . . kind of matchup-proof. And those are valuable, valuable players to have in the lineup every day.”
Tucker, whom the Cubs acquired from the Astros last December to help raise the level of their offense, is in the 98th percentile in chase rate (17.4%), according to Statcast — discipline that has allowed the rest of his offensive talents to shine in what likely will be his fourth straight All-Star season. Committed to only swinging at his pitch, he has the sixth-highest OPS among qualified major-league hitters. His walk rate (14.3%) is in the 95th percentile.
“I’ve tried to get good at not chasing pitches and trying to lay off the pitches on the edges,” he told the Sun-Times recently. “My thing is, if you’re able to not swing at the pitches they want you to swing at, you can draw walks and get on base and just provide opportunities for guys behind you. Or you can wait them out, and they’re going to have to throw pitches over the plate, to where you’re more likely to barrel those balls up or have a lot more success swinging the bat.”
Selectiveness isn’t a new skill for Tucker, but only over the last few years has he refined it. Jason Kanzler, the Cubs’ director of player development, got a firsthand look at Tucker’s dedication to it when he was a member of the Astros’ coaching staff in 2022-23.
“It’s unsurprising how good he is with his plate discipline, but it’s also so surprising how good he is with his plate discipline,” Kanzler said. “It’s incredible, his ability to control the zone, how early his takes are when it’s not a pitch he wants.”
In 2022, Tucker’s 26.1% chase rate already was well above average. But over the next two seasons, it steadily dropped, to 21.6% in 2023 and 17.5% in 2024, according to Statcast.
Tucker attributes the swift improvement to simply putting emphasis on the skill.
“If you’re able to mentally lock in with that stuff, then over time, you naturally get better and better at that stuff, especially if you make a point of doing it and make it part of your routine,” he said.
It isn’t just about balls and strikes, either. Plotting Tucker’s swing percentages and slugging percentages by zone reveals hot spots on the inner half of the plate, from the middle up, which shows he’s swinging most often at pitches he’ll do damage with.
Players trying to hone their swing mechanics often will look at video from the best stretches of their careers. Tucker describes using a mental version of that process.
“I try to figure out the times when I’m doing well and try to figure out how to prolong that,” he said. “And just the mental-play side of things, how to recognize what I’m doing in those times and just try and do it every time, or as often as I can.”
Cubs of the Futures: Wiggins, Caissie
Prospects Jaxon Wiggins and Owen Caissie are set to represent the Cubs in the All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at the Braves’ Truist Park, three days before the All-Star Game. Major League Baseball announced the full rosters Monday.
Wiggins, a right-handed pitcher, was cruising through High-A with a 1.71 ERA when the Cubs promoted him to Double-A in mid-May. In seven starts with Double-A Knoxville, he’s averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Caissie, a towering outfielder and left-handed hitter whom MLB Pipeline identifies as the Cubs’ No. 1 prospect, is tied with catcher Moises Ballesteros in leading qualified hitters at Triple-A Iowa in OPS (.877).
