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Kyle and Preston Tucker are Both in Astros Organization

By Eric Huysman

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The Astros have signed one of their first round picks; number five pick Kyle Tucker out of Plant High School in Florida. His brother Preston Tucker is now the Astros leftfielder, after being drafted by the Astros out of Florida University in 2012. The 2012 draft was the same draft that included Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, and Brett Phillips to name a few. That draft was considered Jeff Luhnow’s best draft to date, but the 2015 draft could be just as big for the Astros.

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On Monday June 15, 2015, the Astros announced via Jose de Jesus Ortiz Tweet that the Astros have signed first-round pick Kyle Tucker. While the club has not officially proclaimed the value of the signing, the slot value for the fifth-overall pick was $4,188,700. There are multiple reports from

MLB.com

and

Jonathan Mayo

have the signing at four million, which would save the Astros some money. He was considered the best high school outfield prospect and second-best high school hitter in the 2015 draft. The Astros are expected to have to sign Daz Cameron for an over the slot bonus, so they are trying to save some money here and there.

A rough estimate of where Tucker ranks in the updated Baseball America Astros top prospect list is as the seventh best Astros prospect. You can read more about the rankings from my earlier article here.

There is hope among the Astros management that the Tucker boys can eventually play on the same team together with the Astros down the road. Preston is seven-years-older than Kyle, so they have not really had the opportunity to play on the same team in a structured league. They might have played in the park together as kids, but that could be something to be used to motivate Kyle Tucker to rise quickly through the Astros organization.

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The Astros have not mentioned where Tucker will start his major league career. However, I can see him starting with the Tri-City Valley Cats (Games begin this Friday) or the Greenville Astros (Starts next Tuesday) at the Rookie level. It’s good that the Astros signed him quickly, so he can get right to playing professional baseball.

Kyle Tucker is considered by many people to be a better prospect than his brother Preston because he has a smooth swing that has been compared to Ted Williams and is a great overall athlete. He has a lanky form, but should be able to add muscle to his body as he develops in the minors. Don’t expect him to be rushed, as the Astros appear to have a few options to play the outfield soon.  It would be a great story for the Tucker boys to play on the Astros team together, but he would have to outlast the Domingo Santana‘s and Brett Phillip’s of the Astros farm system.

Congrats Kyle, and I would love to do an interview with you at some point.

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