Major League Baseball

Houston Astros' Kyle Tucker joins Ben Verlander on 'Flippin' Bats'

Updated Jun. 1, 2021 7:55 p.m. ET

MLB's villainous team might reside in Houston, but there are still likable players there.

One of them is the Houston Astros' young outfielder Kyle Tucker, who just might be on his way to stardom.

Tucker was the fifth pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft, and he has since made his way up to the Astros' big-league roster. He is proving to be one of the team's more productive players, leading the Astros in home runs (11) while ranking second in RBIs (35).

The left fielder is coming off a dominant month of May in which he batted .296 while hitting six home runs and driving in 20 runs, which is why it makes all the sense in the world for him to be the latest MLB sensation to join Ben Verlander on "Flippin' Bats."

While Tucker is making everything look easy at the plate lately, that wasn't always the case, as he started the season by batting .181 in April.

He spoke on the podcast about staying locked in and battling through droughts in a sport in which success is often fleeting.

"In the big leagues, these are the best players in the world. They are so good defensively and pitching-wise, the ball is moving all over the place at the plate," he said. "We fail 70 percent of the time, and that's if you're one of the best in the league.

"Obviously, you never plan on struggling, but we play so many games that it is going to happen at some point, whether it's for a month or a week, however long. You just have to mentally grind it out and get through."

Individual slumps are to be expected in baseball, but they might be easier to accept when you play for a winning team. That is exactly what Tucker has been able to experience with the Astros. He was a member of the 2019 Houston team that made it to the World Series, losing to the Washington Nationals in a seven-game classic.

Now in his first full season at the major-league level, he reflected on that experience.

"Playing in those games is definitely life-changing," he said. "You definitely appreciate it, and it's a lot of fun to be out there."

Plus, the Astros are set up for more success in the future, not only because of Tucker's presence on the roster but also thanks to Yordan Álvarez.

"He's just one of those guys who just rakes up at the plate," Tucker said of Álvarez. "He's such a good hitter, and we are excited to watch him every at-bat."

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To hear more from Tucker, check out the full episode below.

Kyle Tucker gives the inside scoop on Astros' side of 2019 World Series loss | Flippin' Bats

Houston's Kyle Tucker sat down with Ben Verlander to talk about what it was like to be on the Astros team that blew a 3-2 lead to the Nationals in the 2019 World Series.

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @Verly32.