Preston Tucker (baseball)

Preston Tucker
Houston Astros
Outfielder
Born: July 6, 1990
Tampa, Florida
Bats: Left Throws: Left

Preston M. Tucker (born July 6, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Houston Astros organization.

College career

Tucker played college baseball at the University of Florida from 2009 to 2012. He set school records for most hits with 341, runs batted in with 258 and at-bats with 1,035.[1][2] He finished second in school history with 57 home runs and batted .329. As a freshman he was the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Freshman Hitter of the Year and the SEC Co-Freshman of the Year.[3][4]

Professional career

Tucker was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 16th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and returned to Florida.[5][6] He was then drafted by the Houston Astros in the seventh round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.[7][8]

Tucker started his professional career with the Tri-City ValleyCats, hitting .321/.390/.509 with 8 home runs and 38 runs batted in 42 games. He started the 2013 season with the High-A Lancaster JetHawks, and was promoted to the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks after hitting .326/.384/.544 with 15 home runs in 75 games. In 60 games with Corpus Christi he hit .262/.347/.456 with 10 home runs.

Personal life

Tucker's younger brother, Kyle, is a high school baseball player.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Plant High's Preston Tucker sets Florida Gators' career record for hits". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Gators' Preston Tucker sets school RBI record". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Gators 1B Preston Tucker named national Freshman Hitter of the Year". Blogs.palmbeachpost.com. June 9, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  4. ↑ Gators 1B Preston Tucker named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year
  5. ↑ "Florida Gators' Preston Tucker delays pro baseball career to try to win a title in Gainesville". Palmbeachpost.com. February 14, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Former Plant High baseball star Preston Tucker returns for one more season with Florida Gators". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Tampa's Preston Tucker among more Gators selected in MLB Draft". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  8. ↑ Special to Gatorsports.com (July 18, 2012). "Astros sign Preston Tucker". Gainesville.com. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Florida high school sports - Baseball: Young Panthers have big plans". tampabay.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.

External links