Preston Tucker Needs to be Starting for Houston Astros
By Josh Sippie
The Houston Astros farm system continues to pump out talent, even talent that wasn’t too highly touted not so long ago. Preston Tucker has made his arrival to Houston in grand fashion, as he’s off to a .310 start in his first 29 at-bats as a pro, including a game-tying home run to take the Astros into extra innings against the Detroit Tigers.
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Being only 25 years old, it’s high time to get Preston Tucker into that Astros’ lineup. The problem now is that he’s an outfielder on a team that is stacked high with outfielders.
There are three options for Preston Tucker in terms of starting: He can usurp Colby Rasmus in left field, he can learn first base and usurp Chris Carter or he can DH and push Evan Gattis to first base or left field and remove Carter or Rasmus from the equation.
Let’s address them one at a time.
A straight switch of Preston Tucker for Colby Rasmus is the least likely scenario. While Tucker is a left fielder, he isn’t renowned for his fielding, whereas Rasmus has a good glove. Offensively, Colby Rasmus has been pretty solid for the Astros, hitting to the tune of .244 with 8 home runs and 17 RBIs. His .200 average and 37% strikeout rate with runners in scoring position isn’t a pretty tune, but it’s still early.
Not only that, but Jeff Luhnow is a big Colby Rasmus supporter, as he was part of the Luhnow days in St. Louis, so that connection will always be strong.
So nix that idea, let’s look at teaching Preston Tucker to play first base because Chris Carter is just an enigma that’s really getting annoying. Carter has actually upped his average to .161 and has a respectable 7 home runs and 20 RBIs but the fact is that he just isn’t getting it done. I get the whole power approach that the Astros are taking but at some point you have to draw the line or you’re going to end up having a lineup of guys putting up 41-year old Jason Giambi like numbers.
Carters isn’t the best defensively at first base, so it’s not like Preston Tucker would have much to live up to, plus offensively, he hits for power, average, and has about half as many holes in his swing as Chris Carter.
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The final option, and another quite attractive one because of the end product being the same as the previous option, is to shift Preston Tucker to DH and move Evan Gattis to first. Gattis is known as a left fielder and catcher, but being a catcher, he is naturally inclined to first base and he did happen to play four games there in Atlanta. He made only one error, so that’s a good thing.
Preston Tucker has to be rewarded for how well he’s doing and a spot in the starting lineup would be the perfect reward. Not only would it show all those kids in the minors that they can still break into a team full of free agent pick ups and traded-for veterans, but it shows them that the emphasis is still on them and not on big name signings.
It’s a no-lose situation to put Preston Tucker in the lineup where Chris Carter was. However the positions need to be swung, swing them, because the longer Chris Carter is in the lineup, the longer that hole will eat away at Astros’ rallies. Seems kind of silly when Preston Tucker can be slotted in to fill the gap. Not to mention the possible byproduct of sparking a fire in Chris Carter if he’s benched for a prolonged period like he was last year.