Dodgers’ Kyle Tucker Starting to Live up to $240M Price Tag

Kyle Tucker celebrates a home run

Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker had a strong game at the plate against the San Francisco Giants Wednesday night, a remarkable turnaround from his slow start to the season.

On Wednesday, he was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and run scored, a performance that exemplifies his upward trend as the season as gone on.

Kyle Tucker struggled in March and early April

Tucker entered the 2026 season with high expectations.

After all, the Boys in Blue thought he was worth a four-year, $240 million contract, the highest salary in the league on a per-year basis (excluding teammate Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract, much of which will come in deferred payments).

With big money comes pressure, though, and initially, it appeared Tucker was struggling.

Through the first six games, his average was .174.

Apr 15, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker runs the bases after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

He had five hits over the next two games, then cooled off again.

Aside from a three-hit game on April 18, he struggled to get his batting average above .250 between April 11 and May 8.

FanGraphs’ visualization of his hitting through the first quarter of the season shows the volatility that can be expected at the start of the year, but the consistency that has developed since then belies a steady improvement.

Kyle Tucker has been raking in May

In his last 10 games, Tucker is hitting .367 with a .500 OBP, figures that both are approximately double his early-season results.

It didn’t come out of nowhere, though.

In April, Tucker’s average went up to .247, and in May, it’s .294.

That’s steady improvement as the season has gone on, resulting in his current average of .260 for the year, which is much closer to his pre-Dodgers career.

Before joining LA, Tucker was one of the best hitters in baseball.

He has two Silver Slugger awards, four All-Star appearances and two seasons hitting at least 30 home runs, plus three more with at least 20 home runs.

He also has two seasons over 100 RBIs.

With the Dodgers sometimes struggling with runners in scoring position, a high-performing Tucker could be the answer.

Do you think Kyle Tucker’s hot hitting will continue?

Janai Williams contributed to this report.