BRADENTON, FL: Shortstop Carson Tucker, age 17, throws to first base during the PDP League game at the IMG Academy on July 2, 2019. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
Carson Tucker is hitting .352 for the San Diego Padres’ Double-A team in San Antonio. His 31 hits in 27 games are seven shy of his meager total over three years in the Cleveland Guardians’ farm system.
Tucker got $2 million to sign at age 18 as a first-round pick by the Cleveland Indians in 2020. He never earned a chance to play for them and was released by the renamed Guardians.
He had hit .150, .137 and .200 in three brief stops totaling only 73 games for Cleveland’s low minor-league teams. A hand injury in 2021 and strained right forearm in 2022 derailed his development even more than not being able to play in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic that shut down all the minor leagues.
Cleveland’s farm system in 2020-23 was loaded with middle infielders. Among those who made the majors are Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, Ernie Clement, Jose Tena, Brayan Rocchio, Angel Martinez, Daniel Schneeman, Richie Palacios, Juan Brito and Jose Fermin. Tucker was released.
The slender infielder did not give up after not playing at all in 2024. He played 18 games for Ogden (UT) in the independent Pioneer League in 2025, hitting .323 with 12 RBI.
This past January, he signed a minor-league deal with the Padres. In 27 games for the San Antonio Missions of the Double-A Texas League, he has 31 hits in 84 at-bats and is 9-for-9 in steal attempts.
The 2019 PDP League
Tucker played in the inaugural Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League in Florida in 2019 that showcased the 80 best high school baseball players in America.
Among some of the participants then who have already made strides in MLB are:
BRADENTON, FL: Carson Tucker takes batting practice during the PDP League media day at the IMG Academy on June 17, 2019. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
Catcher Kyle Teel, Chicago White Sox; Infielders Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers; Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals; Outfielders Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals; Petey Halpin, Cleveland; Infielder/outfielders Jordan Walker, St. Louis; Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics; Pitchers Nolan McLean, New York Mets; Kyle Harrison, Milwaukee Brewers; Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates; Cade Horton, Chicago Cubs; Mick Abel, Minnesota Twins.
Several others are playing this season in Double-A or Triple-A, refining their skills.
An Athletic Family
Tucker grew up in Phoenix watching big leaguers play in spring training. He was a star at Mountain Pointe High School and became the 12th player from the school to be drafted. Four played MLB ball: Joe Mather, brothers C.J. and Kevin Cron and Carson’s older brother Cole.
PITTSBURGH: Cole Tucker of the Pittsburgh Pirates watches his two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park on April 20, 2019. It was his first career hit in his first MLB game. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Cole Tucker, also an infielder, was a first-round pick by the Pirates in 2012; dad played briefly in the Cardinals’ system in the 1980s; mom was a volleyball player at the University of Arizona.
Carson played only three games as a high school senior due to Covid shutting down prep athletics. He had signed a letter of intent to play college ball at Texas. So did Petey Halpin, a highly skilled prep outfielder from California. Neither suited up for the Longhorns.
Cleveland drafted Tucker No. 23 overall and Halpin at No. 95 in the third round. Left-hander Logan Allen, who has pitched 74 games for Cleveland, was the club’s second-round pick in 2020.
That year, then-Cleveland star Trevor Bauer pitched to Cole, while Carson hit a long shot off Allen in the Arizona desert. Click on this fun video that shows men being boys playing a game they love in brutal heat on rocks during the pandemic.
To gain further insight into Carson’s current mindset, this fine San Antonio Missions podcast earlier this month covers the ups and downs of his young career.
Men On A Mission
San Antonio has been a key spot on the playing path of 10 eventual members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Adrian Beltre hit .321 for the Missions in his first pro season in 1998. The third baseman made his MLB debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers that year and played until 2018, hitting .286 with 477 homers, 1,707 RBI and winning 5 gold gloves and 4 silver slugger awards.
- Pedro Martinez had a 1.76 ERA in 12 games for the 1991 Missions in the Dodgers’ chain. In 18 MLB seasons for five teams, he had a 219-100 record and 2.93 ERA, winning three Cy Young awards.
- Mike Piazza got called up to the Dodgers in 1992 after hitting .377 in 31 games for San Antonio, For five teams through 2007, the 12-time all-star hit .308 with 477 homers.
BALTIMORE: Dennis Eckersley of the Cleveland Indians pitches at Memorial Stadium when he was an All-Star and threw a no-hitter.. (Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images)
Focus on Sport via Getty Images
- Dennis Eckersley went 14-3 for the Missions in 1973. Cleveland called him up the next year at age 20 and he pitched for five MLB clubs until age 43 in 1998. He had a no-hitter for Cleveland in 1977, won 20 for the Boston Red Sox in 1978, and won the 1992 AL Cy Young Award as an Oakland reliever. He totaled 197 wins, 390 saves.
- Joe Morgan hit .323 with 47 steals for San Antonio in 1964. The second baseman totaled 689 steals, 1,650 runs and 268 homers over 22 seasons with five MLB teams through 1984. He was NL MVP in 1975 and 1976, helping the Cincinnati Reds to World Series wins both years.
- Teammates Billy Williams hit .317 and Ron Santo .327 for the 1959 Missions. Both became Chicago Cubs legends. Williams was the 1961 NL Rookie of the Year and hit .290 with 426 homers for two teams through 1976. Santo was a nine-time all-star, five-time gold glover and hit 342 homers for Chicago’s two MLB clubs, 1960-1984.
BALTIMORE: Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson make a diving catch of a line drive by Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench in the 1970 World Series at Memorial Stadium.
Bettmann Archive
- Brooks Robinson hit .270 in 188 games for San Antonio in 1956-57. He played in 18 MLB All-Star games, won 16 consecutive gold gloves at third base, was the 1964 AL MVP, 1967 All-Star MVP and 1970 World Series MVP, had 268 homers and 1,357 RBI – all in 23 years with the Baltimore Orioles.
Tucker’s Future With San Diego Padres
He is only 24 years old and finally healthy. Most importantly, he is rid of the stigma of trying to live up to being a precocious first-round pick. He’s enjoying the game instead of pressing to succeed.
It helps to be hitting well right now. Success always makes any game fun. There will be off days ahead and how Tucker responds to limit any future failure will be the deciding factor.
The athleticism is there. The opportunity is there. The San Diego Padres have given him a chance. Even better, Carson Tucker has given himself a chance to make his career a success story after all.