Five things you may not know about Preston Tucker

Starting the season in left field for the Braves, Preston Tucker occupied a spot where many Braves fans expected to see Ronald Acuna on opening day.

Tucker came out of the gate with a blast. In the first seven games of the season, Tucker hit .435 (10-for-23), with two home runs and nine RBIs, including two three-RBI games.

In the five games since, Tucker is 0-for-12, with five strikeouts. He struck out only four times in his first 23 at-bats.

Of course, Acuna is performing quite badly for Triple-A Gwinnett. In the Stripers’ first five games, Acuna is 2-for-19 (.105) with a double and eight strikeouts. He walked twice, leaving him with a .190 OBP.

The question we’re all waiting for the Braves to answer is whether they’ll promote Acuna before he breaks out of his slump, and it’s usually wise to let a player play through his first slump in the minors rather than the majors.

While Tucker’s batting average has fallen to .286, left field remains his job, for now.