Cubs Desperately Hoping ‘Little Step Back’ Allows Kyle Tucker to Regain Form
It’s hard to explain exactly what has gone wrong for the Cubs’ offense as of late, but they’ve basically stopped scoring since the All-Star break. With their shutout loss to the Brewers on Monday, they fell to last in MLB with only 102 runs in 28 games in the second half. Ah, but they scored 58 runs in 12 July games after the break, good for just over 4.8 runs per game. The Cubs are averaging only 2.75 runs over 16 games in August as multiple key hitters have all but disappeared.
Kyle Tucker has been at the forefront of the struggles, with Craig Counsell announcing on Monday that the star right-fielder would be benched for more than one game to facilitate a mental reset. This came just a day after Counsell defended Owen Caissie‘s lack of playing time by saying the best players needed to be in the lineup. Going 0-for-4 with three weak rollovers to the right side and getting booed back to the dugout doesn’t mean Tucker is a bad player, but it was enough to finally drive home the idea that something needs to change.
“The fans are frustrated and Kyle’s frustrated,” Counsell explained after Monday’s loss. “And it’s unfortunate, because Kyle, when you make outs, it doesn’t look great. But he’s trying. It’s just not clicking. We’re going to have to take a little step back here, for sure, and just give him some days off to reset him, hopefully.”
Tucker isn’t the only outfielder who could use a break, as Ian Happ has a .143 average over the last week. His four home runs since the break lead this group of outfielders and he’s getting on base at an above-average rate (.333), but has only hit one homer in August. He was on the bench in favor of Caissie on Monday, which is a little ironic considering his statement after Sunday’s win.
“Luckily, I’m at a point in my career where I’m going to be out there every day, and that gives you a little bit of comfort,” Happ said. “Doesn’t make it any easier to go through, doesn’t make it hurt any worse when you’re not getting the results. It’s a game where you wanna help the team and you want the results to show.
“But I think understanding the process and having enough at-bats under my belt, you understand that if you’re doing things right, you’re gonna be in a good spot over the long term.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong had been a catalyst during a first half that saw him earn an All-Star Game start, but he is now falling in line with the rest of the flailing offense. He has 18 strikeouts over 15 games, which might be acceptable were it not for a decidedly suboptimal .154 AVG and .228 OBP. Even worse, PCA has yet to hit a homer this month after leading the team with 25 in the first half.
Power was a big part of the Cubs’ success earlier in the season, and they ranked third in baseball with 142 home runs prior to the break. They’re ranked 23rd with only 28 longballs since then, and they’re tied for last with 12 dingers in August. Much of that can be attributed to PCA’s power outage, which comes in conjunction with a rising strikeout rate. He’s actually making more contact than before, but he’s not getting the ball in the air.
But back to Tucker, whose hitting skills have vanished like Charles Barkley in Space Jam. Even if it wasn’t a matter of his anemic production, Tucker’s body language alone has been like a neon sign saying he needs a break.
Fans at Wrigley Field just showered Kyle Tucker with boos after he grounded out to first base and didn’t run it out.
Tucker hasn’t hit a home run since July 19th pic.twitter.com/64W3kPdxmt— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) August 17, 2025
Many have wondered aloud whether the finger injury Tucker suffered back in early June is continuing to impact his play. While June was his best month statistically, it’s entirely possible that a chronic issue and/or mental fatigue are compounding over time. His swing speed continues to drop, which seems to support that notion. Jed Hoyer told 670 The Score on Monday that Tucker’s mechanical adjustments following the injury are “probably a big part” of these weak at-bats.
Updating Kyle Tucker’s rolling bat speed:
🔘Over the past week, Tucker’s bat speed has continued to dip, marking his slowest 15-day stretch of the season.
🔘On a rolling 5-swing average, he still hasn’t touched the red zone—the last time he did was late July.
🔘While this is… https://t.co/8mzFUBNfWT pic.twitter.com/92IXallhKd
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) August 19, 2025
Brenden Miller of CHGO looked at Tucker’s decreased bat speed as well as the sharp decrease in his launch angle. When you’re not swinging the bat as hard or hitting it in the air as often, you’re not going to produce at a superstar level.
Kyle Tucker’s launch angle has dropped sharply.
Since late July, he hasn’t had a single 10-batted-ball stretch where his average launch angle reached the red zone — the range where he usually drives home runs and extra-base hits. pic.twitter.com/yAimXNTIWs
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) August 18, 2025
Giving Tucker a few days to rest and reset his mind is a smart move, and one that arguably should have been made long before this series against the Brewers. Nonetheless, he needs to start hitting for power if the Cubs want to have any chance of competing in the postseason. Adding a superstar to the lineup this winter proved to be a pivotal move as the Cubs jumped out to a hot start, with Tucker seemingly elevating the play of those around him.
Things have gone in the opposite direction over the last few weeks, however, and the Cubs are now nine games back with less than 40 left to play. Even holding onto their Wild Card position isn’t a given by any means, and they certainly don’t look like a team that’s built to compete in the postseason if they do make it. Finding a way to get Tucker back to being himself, not to mention Happ and Crow-Armstrong, is the only way the Cubs will make any noise beyond September.
