Aaron Hicks sent home from Venezuela

[big dog]

Report from Berardino, http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/

 

"Hicks, 25, had hoped to use the extra playing time to jump-start his flagging career. He posted a .381 on-base percentage in 16 games (50 at-bats) for Margarita, but his batting average (.220) and slugging percentage (.280) were disappointing."

 

Meanwhile, Lavelle's most recent story is that Buxton was injured in the AFL.

 

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

ouch.

[Ben B]

Meanwhile, Lavelle's most recent story is that Buxton was injured in the AFL.

 

Berardino has been killing it ever since he came here. La Velle has been mailing it in for years. 

[big dog]

Berardino has been killing it ever since he came here. La Velle has been mailing it in for years. 

No doubt about it.  And Phil Miller's big update is that Bruno was hired as the hitting coach.  The Strib must have all its resources following Adrian Peterson events.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The Santana-to-SS might have to wait another year.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I think Hicks' time in the Winter League wasn't going to change the Twins' opinion of him much one way or the other. It's too bad that he washed out, but it's not like he was facing MLB pitching anyway.  

It's distressing to see he only managed 1 extra base hit, but again, I don't think the Twins were going to alter their plans regarding Hicks much one or the other if he was the Winter League MVP.

[stringer bell]

I think Hicks' time in the Winter League wasn't going to change the Twins' opinion of him much one way or the other. It's too bad that he washed out, but it's not like he was facing MLB pitching anyway.  

It's distressing to see he only managed 1 extra base hit, but again, I don't think the Twins were going to alter their plans regarding Hicks much one or the other if he was the Winter League MVP.

Oh, I don't think so (Tim).  I believe that Hicks was in a situation where he could increase his stock with good play down there, especially if that play is equivalent to AAA or better.  He didn't do that, .381 OBP or not, so it is one more opportunity wasted.  In my book, Hicks and Rosario are going to come into spring training as equals, neither with a promise of a roster spot.  Hicks will have the advantage of being a switch hitter and more of a classic center fielder.  Rosario will be younger and coming off a successful postseason campaign in Arizona.

[DJL44]

It's 50 at-bats. The difference between .220 and .260 is two hits.

[Mike Sixel]

One XBH in 50 ABs against what is probably AA pitching.....and couldn't hit .300. I hope he's in AAA to start the year, and not the majors.

[drock2190]

Berardino has been killing it ever since he came here. La Velle has been mailing it in for years. 

 

 

Used to go read there blogs all the time but the pay wall got annoying. 

[Winston Smith]

Reports are that Tomas is close to signing. That should solve our left field problem, I have no doubt he'll be signing with the Twins.  We won't need Hicks so much then either! 

[TheLeviathan]

So yeah, can we not count on him for anything next year and just stick with hoping he makes a surprise impact?

[Otto von Ballpark]

It's 50 at-bats. The difference between .220 and .260 is two hits.

I try not to read too much into it too, but it was basically a continuation of his bizarre MLB performance (low AVG, very little power, but inexplicably some walks).

 

The strange nature of the batting line gives me some hope that can he eventually right the ship, although I'd have him do that at AAA or on the MLB bench.

[Willihammer]

Reports are that Tomas is close to signing. That should solve our left field problem, I have no doubt he'll be signing with the Twins.  We won't need Hicks so much then either! 

This is gonna be awesome!!!

 

[pierre75275]

I might be wrong...but wasn't Hicks supposed to get married this off-season... thought I read a story about that. Is it possible he came back for his wedding.

[Senior Softball Guy]

If you think of a Hicks/ Schaeffer platoon in left with prospects rising and give up on his "potential" and accept him as an OBP guy with good speed and a lights out arm the profile feels a little better.

[Mike Sixel]

Sure, if you decide he's a 4th OF, then judge him against those expectations, he'll probably get a B.....

[big dog]

I might be wrong...but wasn't Hicks supposed to get married this off-season... thought I read a story about that. Is it possible he came back for his wedding.

He and his fiancee changed the date on the wedding so he could play winter ball.  Oops.

 

Seems like a punk move by the team to me, but it isn't great news for Hicks either.

[Linus]

The practical approach here is to start him in AXA next year and see what happens. Clearly he should not be counted upon for a MLB roster spot

[Linus]

Ok I don't want to be obnoxious here but it is really time to get real about Hicks. If he was a 3rd round draft choice he would be completely written off. I hope he comes through but in no way should he be given any major league time without showing something better than he has so far. The fact of the matter is he is now more suspect than prospect. Time to move on - this happens all the time. Hopefully he surprises us but no way should he be counted on

[stringer bell]

Ok I don't want to be obnoxious here but it is really time to get real about Hicks. If he was a 3rd round draft choice he would be completely written off. I hope he comes through but in no way should he be given any major league time without showing something better than he has so far. The fact of the matter is he is now more suspect than prospect. Time to move on - this happens all the time. Hopefully he surprises us but no way should he be counted on

Ya but, he's fast, great arm, and a switch hitting center fielder, you know like Mickey Mantle. (Sarcasm). The obvious tools are there, but the performance isn't and he really hasn't advanced beyond mastering AA. I have been heartily agreeing with the "send him to AAA" argument for a while. The last thing that should happen for a guy who is still a prospect is to platoon him with a left handed hitter.

[Otto von Ballpark]

The practical approach here is to start him in AXA next year and see what happens. Clearly he should not be counted upon for a MLB roster spot

AXA? The Anguilla airport?

[Monkeypaws]

Reports are that Tomas is close to signing. That should solve our left field problem, I have no doubt he'll be signing with the Twins.  We won't need Hicks so much then either! 

 

Fooled me!

 

Dammit, it's November, not April....

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

AXA? The Anguilla airport?

Not if he wants to show improved power - Killebrew is the only guy I can think of that could have hit one out of Anguilla... Maybe Thome... 

[TheDean]

The strange nature of the batting line gives me some hope that can he eventually right the ship, although I'd have him do that at AAA or on the MLB bench.

 

I don't have enough baseball knowledge to confirm, but it seems to me that a guy with speed and sub-Mendoza average/pop should be the kind of guy that professional pitchers groove strikes to (and never walk).  I mean, he had the 11th lowest ISO in the majors... but the 3rd highest BB% in 2014 (220 PA).  Without context, I'd say that his vision and approach must be decent to scrape out so many walks.  He gets on base nearly as much through walks as he does with hits.

 

Basically, it's hard for me to believe that ML-caliber pitchers allow a guy to get on base like he does with his apparent lack of hitting ability.  He must have some skill at the plate, right?  At least in identifying pitches...and maybe his swing mechanics are messed up?  Or maybe he doesn't, and we're looking at much too small samples here.

 

Edit:  Little reference here: Fangraphs sorted listing for BB%.  Notice that all of the players in the top 30 sport respectable ISO. 100s seems to be the lowest.  Pitchers like to pitch around guys with high ISO, and it results in high BB% for those players.  Hicks and AJ Ellis are the huge outliers...no one is even close to their low SLG and lower AVG.  It's all just odd to me.  Explained with SSS?

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

If the best chance for a player to reach base is when he doesn't swing, then that's a problem.

 

It's good that he can draw some walks, I wonder if pitchers assume he will chase bad pitches because his batting average is so low? I would think by now opposing teams know that he's selective at the plate.

 

Also from Fangraphs, He was 2nd in the league (lowest) in %O-Swing - he swung at just 20 percent of pitches outside the strike zone.

 

But really, the telling stat to me is that he doesn't swing much at all compared to the rest of the league: his total swing% was 37.4% which was the 6th lowest in the league last year.

 

"He should swing more" is probably over-simplifying a bit, but that's what I would suggest Bruno and co. examine and find a smarter way of conveying that to Hicks. Swing at more strikes, anyway....

[iTwins]

For what it's worth, Darren Wolfson reported that Hicks was only ever scheduled to play a month of winter ball (this per Hicks' agent). He said it was wrong to frame this as a release.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

For what it's worth, Darren Wolfson reported that Hicks was only ever scheduled to play a month of winter ball (this per Hicks' agent). He said it was wrong to frame this as a release.

Hmm - that changes things a tiny bit. He still performed poorly, whether he was released by the Bravos or left on his own.

[Willihammer]

LOL, so, he did schedule the wedding before the end of the season after all?

 

Does HIcks want to play baseball for a living?

[Mike Sixel]

1. Walking is not just about what a pitcher does. People thought that in the 60 and 70s....but walking is a hitter skill.

2.  I would argue that if you don't hit the ball well when you swing, swinging less and getting a walk is a good approach.

3.  That said, if you can't hit a ball, you probably shouldn't be hitting on a MLB roster as a starter. But if you are asked to be a hitter, you should probably not swing much until you learn to hit the ball harder/better than you do now.