Houston Astros Rookie Preston Tucker Hits First Home Run

The Houston Astros fell behind the Detroit Tigers and ace David Price 5-0 in Thursday’s game, but the 2015 Astros will not go down without a fight. They scored three runs in the seventh inning, including an RBI triple by Evan Gattis. Then George Springer hit an RBI double in the eighth inning that scored Luis Valbuena; the Astros were within one run to tie the game. After a close call of the Tigers tacking on a run in the bottom of the eighth, the game remained 5-4 going into the ninth inning. Entering the game was one of the most automatic closers in the game to this point this year.

Clutch Hit by Preston Tucker

Preston Tucker, AKA Bam Bam, pinch hit for Jonathan Villar with one out in the inning. That’s when Preston Tucker took Joakim Soria deep, one of the best closers in the game. Tucker, who hit ten homers before his call-up on May 7th in Triple-A Fresno, got his first MLB homer. Thus far in his time in the major leagues, he has shown some gap power with doubles, but it was nice to see the rookie hit his first home run in a critical situation. Could be a good sign of what’s to come.

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Tucker’s game-tying blast is an example of what the 2015 Houston Astros can do, every day a different player steps up to help the Astros win. Most teams rely on certain players in the middle of the order to be the consistent run producers; this is not the case with the Astros. The Astros hitters are not consistent, but they seem to have a knack for getting the big hit when needed. The Astros still have one of the better records at 27-15, but as a team they are hitting around .229 as a team. The Astros have won games with the home runs and stolen bases while the pitching seems to keep them in games.

Playing Time for Bam Bam

Even with Tucker’s first home run, his playing time will be scarce on this team. The Astros have a surplus of outfielders in the minor leagues, who are being blocked by Colby Rasmus, Jake Marisnick, and George Springer. These players are Domingo Santana, Grossman, L.J. Hoes, and Brett Phillips among others. The Astros took a little risk on signing Rasmus, but it has paid off so far. However, has his presence on the Astros roster slowed the progression of some of the Astros top prospects?

Preston Tucker should be an everyday outfielder for the Astros right now, but he is more like a fourth outfielder with Rasmus on the team. I like the Rasmus signing for this year, but I’m not sure if the Astros should extend him past this season. Domingo Santana is ready to join Tucker on the Astros roster. Santana is ranked as the second best prospect while Tucker is the 15th ranked Astros prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Also, Brett Phillips appears to be on the rise to be the Astros centerfielder in a few years. Tucker has showed the ability to hit for power and average in his stint with the Astros so far, the Astros need high average hitters like him.

The following quote is from the Houston Chronicle Tucker Finds Perfect Time for First Homer by Catherine Slonksnis.

"“I knew I hit it hard and started running around the bases. It felt good, especially in the situation I was in,” Tucker said. “They put me in the game to hit a home run, that’s why I pinch-hit. Unfortunately, it was dampened by the fact that we didn’t win, but that approach I had felt pretty good. The next opportunity that I get, hopefully, I carry that over.”-Preston Tucker"

Congrats to Preston Tucker for his first Astros home run. Since he hit a home run, he should be in the lineup today versus the Tigers. The Astros ended up losing the game, but Tucker’s home run proved that the Astros still had some fight in them. Don’t worry, Julia Morales said that Tucker was able to keep his first home run ball

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