Former Astros Infielder Diagnoses Dodgers' Kyle Tucker’s Problem — and Solution

Tucker's best adjustment might be mental, not physical.

Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker (23) breaks his bat fouling off a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Oracle Park on April 21, 2026. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Kyle Tucker's struggles at the plate led to Dave Roberts' first major change at the top of the Dodgers' batting order since Mookie Betts was placed on the injured list April 5.

Tucker will bat fourth, and Freddie Freeman second, in the Dodgers' series finale in San Francisco on Thursday. Roberts said he will keep the two players in those spots in the lineup for the foreseeable future.

“I do feel [Tucker] is trying to do too much,” Roberts told reporters, incuding Katie Woo of The Athletic. “I definitely expect him to come out of it.”

Also, Roberts said he will keep Freddie Freeman hitting second and Kyle Tucker hitting fourth for the foreseeable future.

“I do feel (Tucker) is trying to do too much,” Roberts said. “I definitely expect him to come out of it.” #Dodgers

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 23, 2026

Tucker is slashing .233/.320/.356 in his first month with the Dodgers. He's on pace for 18 home runs, which would mark his lowest ever in a full season.

It's not what the Dodgers expected when they signed Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract in January. But the surface-level stats only tell part of the story.

The weight of the contract might have come with expectations Tucker is trying too hard to meet.

Roberts' opinion tells the same story as the process-level numbers on Tucker's Statcast page.

"He's got the same bat speed this year that he did last year, 72 [mph]; the whiff rate is 5% higher," former All-Star infielder Jed Lowrie said Wednesday on Rates and Barrels. "That, to me, leans more toward ... he's trying too hard. Kyle Tucker doesn't swing and miss that much.

"That's, to me, a mentality of, like, 'Hey I'm feeling a little anxious about this. I want to do a little bit more.' And the intent has changed."

Lowrie was playing for the Houston Astros in 2015, the same year the Astros chose Tucker with the fifth overall pick in the MLB Draft.

"To me it's just the mentality has changed," Lowrie continued. "For him to raise that much in whiff percentage, I look at this as he's just trying a little too hard. He's hitting way more ground balls right now. His ground ball percentage is up to 42, almost 43%. He's getting to a point where he's swinging and missing more, he's in disadvantaged counts and doesn't get his 'A' swing off as much."

Lowrie believes a mental adjustment is more important than a potential physical adjustment for Tucker.

"Everyone's questioning if he's on his way down or not," Lowrie said. "I look at the bat speed being the same, the whiff rate going up, the ground-ball rate going up, as a sign that he's probably trying a little too hard when he does get in good counts to do too much and then [in] disadvantaged counts, just putting the ball in play.

"As we've learned, putting the ball in play at the big league level is just not effective anymore."

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