HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 16: Kyle Tucker #30 of the Houston Astros hits a walk off home run in the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park on August 16, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
They say the first sign of getting better is admitting you have a problem. I’m here to admit that in 2018, I thought Kyle Tucker was trending toward being a bust, which in retrospect was incredibly unfair to a 21-year-old.
It really didn’t matter what Tucker did in his few chances in 2019 and the pandemic shortened 2020, even as he showed improvement, because in my mind, he was never going to live up to the hype of the 5th overall selection of the 2015 draft and the expectations set for him by fans, myself included.