Chicago Cubs coach talks up Kyle Tucker’s robot-like acumen, struggles to emerge from slump

The Chicago Cubs are on a roll. They’ve seemingly turned around an ugly team slump to win 8 of their last 10 games, including 3 of 5 from the NL Central first place Milwaukee Brewers. As of this writing, the Cubs are now 5.5 games behind the Brewers after fairly recently being 9 games behind.

There is a lot to be happy about in this recent run. The starting pitching has been absolutely superb– ranked top in all of the MLB since June 25. The defense continues to be operating at an elite level. The bullpen is holding steady. And, perhaps most enjoyable, the offense seems to have emerged from it’s extensive funk.

High atop the elation is the joy/relief regarding the apparent comeback of Kyle Tucker’s bat.

The Kyle Tucker rebound

The Cubs’ All-Star right fielder was mired in the muck of a career-worst extended slump that lasted nearly two months. From July 1 to August 21, the multi-tool star was hitting just .184 with just 1 home run and 10 RBIs.

Frustration bad boiled over, with Wrigley fans booing and Tucker showing uncharacteristic frustration on the field. A hairline fracture and subsequent compensatory mechanics issues were blamed, but no solution seemed to be coming. Manager Craig Counsell decided to bench Tucker and give him some time to “reset.”

Tucker continued to struggle at first, but then came alive when the team traveled to Anaheim for a 3-game series with the Los Angeles Angels. Against the Angels, he hit .417 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs.

Although it would be wise to point out that it has only been 3 games since this “turnaround,” it’s also pretty clear that Tucker is looking infinitely more comfortable at the plate.

Chicago Cubs coach talks savant-like Tucker ability

Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly recently spoke with The Athletic about the mental health benefit of sitting a player down for a bit to “take a breath” and slow things down when struggling.

Kelly also gave some insight into Tucker’s mindset, his savant-level hitting acumen, and the way he went about working with Tucker to pull out of the slump.

“He has a Rolodex of pitchers and shapes and speeds that he can almost pull up on command,” Kelly said. “It’s one of the unique traits that he has that makes him so great.”

“What in the chain is breaking down?” Kelly continued, talking about the process of reviewing Tucker’s at-bat mechanics. “What do we attack first? You’re always looking for the first domino that makes everything else kind of fall apart.

“We would go back to certain pitches that he had hit in ‘21,‘22. He has an incredible recall of swings that he’s taken off guys, and what type of pitches. (Tucker would say) ‘This kind of reminded me of the pitch that I hit off (Aaron) Nola in the World Series.’ We’d go back and watch that very similar pitch and compare the moves.”

And the pressure of impending free agency?

With any other player, one might be tempted to point to Tucker’s impending free agency and the pressure of performing for what could be a contract as hefty as $500 million. But Kelly doesn’t believe that any of that has affected Tucker in the least.

“I don’t think that the free-agent stuff has really affected the way that he goes out and plays baseball,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t affect the way that he interacts with our guys. He’s in this 100 percent. He wants to win here. He wants to be here. And I don’t think his mind ever gets to that: ‘What if? Or how much? Or how long or where?’ He’s so locked in on helping us win tonight.”

Whatever the case, the Cubs will need Tucker’s bat if they hope to make a deep and successful postseason run.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-coach-kyle-tucker-slump?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicago-cubs-coach-kyle-tucker-slump