Kyle Tucker | OF
Background
The 18-year-old Tucker attends Plant High School in Tampa (Wade Boggs’ alma mater) and is committed to Florida. He’s consistently performed well against elite high school talent on the showcase circuit. Tucker’s older brother Preston played four years for the Gators and is currently in the Astros’ farm system.
Scouting Report
Tucker is listed at 6-foot-4 and 175 lbs., and he stands out most for his offensive potential. He has excellent bat speed and a sweet left-handed swing geared for consistent, hard contact. Tucker projects to hit for both average and power, especially once he adds some muscle to his rail thin frame. His sound approach suggests he’ll draw his fair share of walks going forward. Tucker is a good athlete, not a great one, and chances are he’ll have to move out of center field and into a corner spot down the road. He has the arm for right field but needs to improve his routes. Either way, Tucker’s a bat first prospect.
Miscellany
MLB.com, Baseball America, and Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Tucker as the eighth, tenth, and 14th best prospect in the draft class in their latest rankings, respectively. Tucker came into the spring as a back-half of the first round prospect who keeps climbing draft boards. The Yankees pick 16th and 30th this year and it’s looking increasingly unlikely he will be available when they pick. Despite their recent inclination for college prospects, scouting director Damon Oppenheimer has always had a thing for bat first high schoolers (Tyler Austin, Greg Bird, and Ben Gamel jump to mind), and Tucker fits the mold.
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