Kyle Tucker’s 2025 season has been a bit of a roller coaster, and lately, the ride hasn’t been too smooth. After sprinting out of the gates as a legitimate MVP contender earlier this year, the Cubs’ star outfielder has hit a serious rough patch – the kind that forces fans to look down at their scorecards and wonder, “What happened?”

Well, we’re starting to get some answers. A recently revealed hand fracture has cast Tucker’s second-half slump in a new light.

It’s no small thing for a hitter to deal with a compromised hand – especially one who, like Tucker, impacts the game with a blend of power and plate discipline. The decline has been sharp, and for Cubs fans stretching across the ivy-lined seats of Wrigley Field, it’s been hard to watch.

Some have even taken to booing, a reaction that says more about expectations than anything else. Tucker was supposed to be the guy anchoring a championship push – and maybe he still can be.

Touch 'em all, King Tuck! pic.twitter.com/Z9qMcpXyeu

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 23, 2025

Against the Angels in the opener of a weekend series in Los Angeles, the Cubs needed a spark. That spark came early, and it came from Tucker himself.

In the top of the first, he belted a solo home run, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead and delivering the kind of swing that reminded everyone of what he can do when he’s right. More than just another run on the board, it was a statement – a sign that maybe, just maybe, Tucker is beginning to find his footing again.

Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just another home run. This was Tucker’s first long ball since July 19.

That’s 25 games and 90 at-bats without one – an eternity for someone with his pop. And while his season numbers still look respectable on the surface – 19 homers, 63 RBIs, a .258/.371/.448 slash line – anyone who’s been following him closely knows the story’s more complicated.

Since the All-Star break, it’s been a different picture. Tucker’s post-break slash line of .177/.325/.260 shows a clear dropoff.

In August, it’s been even tougher sledding. The power’s vanished, the swings have been tentative, and even his usually reliable on-base game has shown cracks.

That’s why Friday’s trip around the bases felt like more than just one good swing – it felt like a potential turning point.

The Cubs, hoping to keep him fresh and productive down the stretch, have been giving him more rest lately – Craig Counsell knows how vital a healthy Tucker is to any postseason aspirations. But when you’re trying to play through an injury, sometimes it takes one good at-bat to rebuild confidence.

And despite going 0-for-3 after that first-inning homer – with a swinging K in the third, a fly out in the fifth, and a groundout in the eighth – the bigger story is that Tucker finally looked like himself in one of those four trips to the plate. That’s the sliver of hope the Cubs can carry into the weekend.

Can one swing be the turning point? That’s hard to say.

But this is the time of year where momentum starts to matter. With a playoff race intensifying and October baseball looming, Chicago needs Tucker to step up – and maybe Friday night was the first step in that direction.

Now the question becomes: can Kyle Tucker reclaim the form he showed earlier this season and help write another chapter in Chicago’s postseason history? That story is still unfolding. But with one big swing in L.A, he may have just turned the page.