“I was hitting the ball really hard a lot in Triple-A,” Tucker said. 223/.350/.373 with 11 doubles, two triples, six homers and 20 RBIS in 61 games. Tucker returned to Indianapolis, where he batted. He remained a work in progress at that point, batting. Tucker started the season at Indy, then spent 13 games with the Pirates between late May and early July. I was just trying to go into it positively and not let it get the best of me and try to be negative because I wasn’t where I wanted to be.” That’s a humbling thing to do as a baseball player.
Nobody wants to be down grinding at Pirate City and waiting and seeing and doing this thing that nobody else has really done before. And, B, if you don’t, you want to be at the alternate site. “It was a very humbling experience,” Tucker said. It was a challenge that tested Tucker’s resolve, as he spent that time working with Indianapolis hitting coach Jon Nunnally, using training devices like aqua bags and yoga balls to challenge his stability. To his credit, he really worked hard at it.” Once we got past that, we just felt like, in talking to Cole, that it was an opportunity for him to dive back into some work just to tighten that up. “I think once we got out of big league camp and sort of got out of the competitive situation where you have games and you’re trying to get on base, you’re trying to win a job. “There are things that he really wanted to tighten up in terms of his movement patterns in his swing,” general manager Ben Cherington said. The Pirates asked Tucker to stay behind at Pirate City and work on his offensive approach, primarily focus on stabilizing his lower body to improve his swing. This past season: The odd man out in the spring training battle for the starting shortstop job, Tucker was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis but instead of being sent to the alternate training site he was given a different assignment. 222/.298/.342 with four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 12 RBIs in 43 games.Ĭontract: Not eligible for arbitration until 2024.Īcquired: Selected in first round of 2014 MLB Draft.
During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z: An alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Miguel Yajure.Ģ021 MLB statistics: Tucker batted.