A few weeks ago, I went to a sports card shop. There were a lot of people in the shop. At the same time, a lot of sports cards are there as well. So, the space looked a bit crowded. When I entered the shop, surprisingly, I saw some packs of the 2026 Topps series 1 celebration.
I never bought this brand before. When I saw some packs there, I was just thinking about getting some packs to see if I could find something interesting. Well, I did. After opening some packs, my initial thought was that it’s basically series 1 baseball cards with some other inserts. I’m glad that I only bought some packs instead of buying a mega box. For me, it’s a brand for fun only. In those packs, I found a Kyle Tucker perennial all-stars insert card. In the front, we can clearly see Tucker in the Cubs uniform.
Kyle Tucker inked a 4-year deal with the Dodgers in January. He wasn’t off to a great start as a Dodger. Nonetheless, baseball season is a marathon. Perhaps, we can look back at his performance in 2025 to see if he was off to a slow start.
As we can see, Tucker actually had a good start in the 2025 season. He hit well in March with 3 home runs and 10 RBI in 7 games. In April, he played 24 games, slashing .264/.382/.484 with 4 home runs and 17 RBI. The next month, Tucker hit .287/.397/.485 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI over 27 games. In June, he batted .311/.404/.578 with 5 home runs and 13 RBI. Hence, from March to June, Tucker finished each month with an OPS over .800.
Nonetheless, in July, Tucker hit only .218/.380/.295 with 1 home run and 9 RBI in 25 games. In August, he slashed .244/.346/.389 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI over 25 games. In September, he suffered an injury and missed some playing time. Tucker only played 5 games last September and his OPS was below .600.
In addition, Tucker’s OPS was .883 in the first half of the 2025 season. Nevertheless, his OPS was below .750 after the All-Star break. Hence, it’s quite clear that he didn’t hit well in the second half of the 2025 season, in particular, he was placed on the IL last September.
However, things look a little bit different in 2026. In March, Tucker collected 4 hits in 5 games but his OPS was below .600. Well, it might be a small sample size. In April, Tucker hit .247/.339/.392 with 3 home runs and 13 RBI in 25 games. His performance was getting better. In May, he slashed .242/.346/.418 with 1 home run and 12 RBI. His OPS increased to over .750. Nonetheless, in June, his OPS is below .700 thus far.
When we look at Tucker’s performance between the 2025 season and the 2026 season, a major thing is that Tucker didn’t have a good start in 2026. His OPS is now below .800. Also, he didn't play well in the second half of the 2025 season. This might be worth watching in 2026. For the Dodgers, an important thing is that Tucker has to stay healthy through the season. And, of course, it’s worthwhile to see if he will heat up later this season.
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