Zulgad: Hicks Confident He Can Contribute

[Seth Stohs]

1500 ESPN's Judd Zulgad wrote about the lessons learned by Aaron Hicks.

 

It's very interesting, reading about the time (weeks) that he spent not being a switch-hitter. He called it "scary," and he wasn't very successful in the short term. He wrote about his stint in Venezuela, and  of course, having Torii Hunter and what his leadership can mean for him. 

[TheLeviathan]

I walked away from this article feeling like this was a kid trying really hard to say what he thought people wanted to hear him say.  

 

Please....put him in AAA and figure out if he can hit and let him adjust down there. 

[HitInAPinch]

I walked away from this article feeling like this was a kid trying really hard to say what he thought people wanted to hear him say.

 

Please....put him in AAA and figure out if he can hit and let him adjust down there.

I'm not buying the "do something to help the team win," thing, the "considers it the scariest moment of his life" thing nor am I buying the concept that it was HIS idea to walk into the Managers office and declare he was done switch hitting. I'm smelling a parental-unit behind this.

 

Declaring Hicks as competing for a MLB spot seems like rewarding him for bad behavior. His minor league stats weren't even all that great. AA ball seems to be the best place for him. I'm thinking the veteran AAA breaking ball pitcher will only mess with him.

[Thrylos]

 

Declaring Hicks as competing for a MLB spot seems like rewarding him for bad behavior.  His minor league stats weren't even all that great. 

 

Alright:

 

Career Minor League Stats:

 

Hicks: .272/.377/.420

Hunter: .270/.334/.417

Span: .286/.356/.356

 

Guess Hunter's and Span's were worse than "not that great" then.

 

And what do you mean by "bad behavior"?  I think that you are confusing lack of coaching and feedback and positive reinforcement by the manager and coaches for "bad behavior".   What Hunter did in that press conference was the latter, and last time I checked, he has a starting job...  If you want to criticize behavior, you got to be fair to all

[jimmer]

I hope this still-young man just explodes this year.  So many want to write him off, but he's the same age as Meyer, who so many feel is going to be awesome.

[stringer bell]

I hope the Twins didn't ruin him by giving him the center field job the last two years and then keeping him in the majors too long. I continue to have the opinion that Hicks could still be a good major league center fielder, but he has proven nothing in the majors except that he wasn't ready when he was promoted. I think he needs to master AAA pitching even if that means a platoon of Schafer and Robinson in center to start 2015. Whoever is more ready between Rosario and Hicks should be the first recall.

[gunnarthor]

Give Hicks credit, he got sent down to AA and didn't pout - he just hit his way out of the EL.  I would prefer that he starts at AAA and gets confidence hitting there but it's not going to happen so hopefully he does well.

[Halsey Hall]

I think Hicks will be fine this year and see nothing wrong with his comments.  He's got his feet wet and now he takes off. 

[Dantes929]

I hope this still-young man just explodes this year.  So many want to write him off, but he's the same age as Meyer, who so many feel is going to be awesome.

I don't want to write him off.   I understand that it would be hard for him to bat right handed only at this point but really wish it had never gotten to this point.    I never liked the idea of him switch hitting because there really wasn't much upside.   He was better from the right side and the best I would have hoped for would be that he would have the same splits against right handed pitching batting left handed as he would if he had hit only right handed from the day he was drafted.    If that was the ceiling then what is the point to doing it?    If he explodes I will be thrilled.   My gut feeling tells me he would make a very good right handed side of a platoon.   There is value in that I don't think should be dismissed.    His splits from the right side are worthy of being a lead off hitter.   His splits from the left side are worthy of being an NL pitcher.   Like I said I hope I am wrong about his ability to switch hit effectively in the majors.

[TheLeviathan]

This is the bizarre thing about Hicks, people say "don't write him off" but their method for proving they are behind him is to throw him in front of pitching that he has failed to hit at historically awful rates and/or put him in the right-handed half of a platoon.

 

I can't think of writing off his future any more clearly or emphatically.  He needs to start hitting.  Actually hitting in the minors.  Span and Hunter struggled too and one of them hit lights out in the bigs and stuck.  The other stunk and was sent down until he figured things out.  

 

Here is what Torii did after being sent down:

 

368/403/727 for a 1.130 OPS with 18 HR and 61 RBI in a bit over 200 at-bats.

 

Hicks you might ask?

 

250 PAs - 5 HR, 29 RBI and a slash line of 291/382/441 for an OPS of .823.  The bulk of that coming in AA and not AAA.

 

Why can't we expect Hicks to go down and blow AAA up before we GIVE him the job for a third time?  What we're doing is the ol' definition of insanity.

[jimmer]

Is everyone saying 'don't write him off' also saying start him off in the majors this year?  I know I'm not.

[TheLeviathan]

Is everyone saying 'don't write him off' also saying start him off in the majors this year?  I know I'm not.

 

If no one has said "let's cut him", why are people arguing that he is being written off?

[dxpavelka]

We're talking about a kid with less than 600 big league plate appearrances.  Might want to give him just a bit of a chance to see what he can do.

[TheLeviathan]

We're talking about a kid with less than 600 big league plate appearrances.  Might want to give him just a bit of a chance to see what he can do.

 

He hasn't had enough to know that he might need some work?  How badly, and for how long, does he have to fail before a long AAA assignment to get him right is in order?

[dxpavelka]

This is the bizarre thing about Hicks, people say "don't write him off" but their method for proving they are behind him is to throw him in front of pitching that he has failed to hit at historically awful rates and/or put him in the right-handed half of a platoon.

 

I can't think of writing off his future any more clearly or emphatically.  He needs to start hitting.  Actually hitting in the minors.  Span and Hunter struggled too and one of them hit lights out in the bigs and stuck.  The other stunk and was sent down until he figured things out.  

 

Here is what Torii did after being sent down:

 

368/403/727 for a 1.130 OPS with 18 HR and 61 RBI in a bit over 200 at-bats.

 

Hicks you might ask?

 

250 PAs - 5 HR, 29 RBI and a slash line of 291/382/441 for an OPS of .823.  The bulk of that coming in AA and not AAA.

 

Why can't we expect Hicks to go down and blow AAA up before we GIVE him the job for a third time?  What we're doing is the ol' definition of insanity.

 

"What we're doing is the ol' definition of insanity."  Unless, of course, it works.  Pretty sure a little research could come up with hundreds of examples of similar situations that worked out.

[Seth Stohs]

And what do you mean by "bad behavior"?  I think that you are confusing lack of coaching and feedback and positive reinforcement by the manager and coaches for "bad behavior".   What Hunter did in that press conference was the latter, and last time I checked, he has a starting job...  If you want to criticize behavior, you got to be fair to all

 

I think I disagree with both of you. I don't think Hicks had any bad behavior. I also don't think it was bad coaching or bad behavior from the coaches.

 

What I do think is that baseball is a really, really hard game, and playing baseball in the Major Leagues is incredibly hard. 

 

I believe in Aaron Hicks. I think he's a good kid, and he works and he wants to be good. I believe he can be, but if he's not, it won't be because he didn't try or he wasn't coached well or right. Baseball is really hard!

[Squirrel]

I don't know. I am going to go into ST very cautiously hopeful about Hicks. Maybe 3rd time's a charm? If he makes the 25 headed north, good for him; let him prove he deserves it. However, I want him on a short leash and out of there and sent to Rochester at the first signs of struggle. I also would not be opposed to him starting the year in Rochester, either. I want him to succeed, but at this point I'm not sure what exactly is the right way to go about doing that.

[Old Twins Cap]

Twinkie posters:  Beat up on some other teams' young players.  It just is not productive to hope that Hicks fails at this point.

 

We all know what Hicks' numbers are.  The question is whether he can improve and contribute. 

 

He's got the skills to do it.  A true fan roots for a positive outcome.

[Squirrel]

Twinkie posters:  Beat up on some other teams' young players.  It just is not productive to hope that Hicks fails at this point.

 

We all know what Hicks' numbers are.  The question is whether he can improve and contribute. 

 

He's got the skills to do it.  A true fan roots for a positive outcome.

No one is hoping that Hicks will fail ... absolutely no one.  But some do have questions of whether or not he will succeed at the MLB level ... and I think those questions are legitimate to discuss; some agree, some don't.  But I don't think anyone is hoping for failure here because a successful Hicks makes the team better.

[stringer bell]

Agree 100% with Chi-Town above.  I consider myself a harsh critic of how the player has been handled, but not of the player.  I think handing him the center field job for the third time is wrong and short-sighted.  Further, using him as the right-handed component of a platoon does basically give up on him being a starting center fielder. 

 

I am convinced that sending Hicks to the minors is the best way for him to reach his potential.  If he hits well in Rochester, he could and should be on a plane back to Minneapolis before Memorial Day.  The young man has tools, but I don't know if he has the skills to be a regular outfielder in the major leagues. 

[TheLeviathan]

I would love nothing more than Hicks playing his way into CF job by June 1st.  But he needs to demonstrate he's put things together in AAA.  

 

His September improvement was minimal and still filled with weak contact and then he went down to winterball and stunk.  He needs a period of sustained success with more power/hard contact in AAA.  Then let's see him make the jump to the big leagues and that challenge.

[Dantes929]

Agree 100% with Chi-Town above.  I consider myself a harsh critic of how the player has been handled, but not of the player.  I think handing him the center field job for the third time is wrong and short-sighted.  Further, using him as the right-handed component of a platoon does basically give up on him being a starting center fielder. 

 

I am convinced that sending Hicks to the minors is the best way for him to reach his potential.  If he hits well in Rochester, he could and should be on a plane back to Minneapolis before Memorial Day.  The young man has tools, but I don't know if he has the skills to be a regular outfielder in the major leagues. 

Hicks and Schaeffer as a platoon is the best thing for the Twins right now.   Hicks has shown he can hit lefties and has shown little against lefties.    If you send him down what is the time frame in which you want him to prove himself?   I am guessing about the same time frame you want Rosario and Buxton to do so.  We don't need HIcks to be our centerfielder for the long term.    Or probably anything more than a 4th outfielder.   I also think saying he was mishandled is just hindsight.   He played well enough in AA and spring training to be promoted.    Others have succeeded in similar situations.  He hasn't yet.     I suspect he won't against righties.

[stringer bell]

Hicks and Schafer as a platoon means that Hicks starts somewhere between 25 and 30% of the time. That is pretty close to fourth outfielder territory and doesn't allow a guy with pretty good tools to fully develop. I'd rather let Hicks get a chance to figure it out at AAA well enough to be a regular center fielder.

 

Time frame in my opinion would be at least 30-40 games barring an injury. I have said on many occasions that since Hicks hasn't proven much positive as a major leaguer that whoever shows he is more ready between Rosario and Hicks should get the first recall. Buxton is another matter. He's younger and missed almost the entire 2014 season. He played less than one full game above A+. He needs quite a bit of AA time before he is promoted to the majors.

 

We may or may not need Hicks as the CF, but increasing his value by being a competent hitter can't be a bad thing. He currently has little value due to his failure and/or disappointment with the Twins.

 

While others may have succeeded with promotion directly from AA, Hicks' history suggests he needed to master each level and that means AAA time. His history is to struggle at each level, particularly left handed, and then thrive. He never has mastered AAA. After his failure in 2013, I thought it was a mistake to hand him center field without minor league time and I said so last year, so it isn't hindsight.

[Paul Pleiss]

Noted Aaron Hicks lover here. I hope he sticks. Even if he doesn't i'll still be waiting for him to figure it out. Hell, I'm still waiting for Joe Benson to put it all together.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I really want to know what went on behind the scenes here. I have to think that there was more to the situation.  Perhaps that's me being a bit cynical, but I really wonder if Hicks is/was the quintessential example  of what a personality conflict in the clubhouse can do.  Who knows.  That said, I think I'm with Levi here.  I don't see how it's possibly in his best interest to go north with the team out of ST unless they've decided he's a strict platoon player, and that isn't best for his development.  I get that Hicks may not be needed by the org with Buxton waiting in the wings, but not giving Hicks a chance to succeed is extremely short sighted by the org. 

 

I'd probably put him in AAA and let him sit there till he has a good month or two.  Of course, I'd have also signed another CF this offseason too.  I enjoyed Santana, but he played like a guy who doesn't normally play CF (and I'd rather him be at SS anyways). 

[Thrylos]

 Hell, I'm still waiting for Joe Benson to put it all together.

 

Might not have to wait too long: .264/.364/.410 for AA Jacksonville (Marlins) last season after knee surgery, signed with Atlanta this off-season and has a chance to make the Braves.

[boomerb5]

I think having Gardy gone can only help Hicks (and Arcia, and Pinto, and Santana and every other young player). Gardy knew "his guys"...Mienty and Koskie and Hunter and AJ...and they did well under him. He was not instrumental in the development of the guys who have come along since about 2007. Heck, we may see something even better from Plouffe and Dozier with Gardy gone.

[HitInAPinch]

And what do you mean by "bad behavior"?  I think that you are confusing lack of coaching and feedback and positive reinforcement by the manager and coaches for "bad behavior".   What Hunter did in that press conference was the latter, and last time I checked, he has a starting job...  If you want to criticize behavior, you got to be fair to all

 

I was taking the quotes from the Judd Zulag and reading past the drama.  By his own admission, Hicks is the person who made the decision to stop switch hitting, without considering the consequences i.e.  he hadn't hit righthanded against righthanded pitchers in a long time.  After the failed experiment in the minors, he announces he's switch hitting again.  I call that bad behavior.  Do we know there was a lack of coaching or managing?  Gardenhire seemed like he already had one foot out the door.  Did Brunansky not do anything to help Hicks?  I can't say for sure either.  But is does sound like Hicks has taken some responsibility for his career:  he's worked to get in better shape and has seemed to have a plan for AB's. 

[Mike Sixel]

I think Hicks has talent. I think Hicks should be in AAA, learning how to harness that talent. I have no opinion on Hicks the person, or hard worker, we just don't know any of that for sure one way or the other. What we do know is that he is pretty historically bad at hitting the baseball (as in, it would be historic if he stays in the majors and is good at it, w/o going back down first). Or, I think we know that, since one of the FG writers looked it up, and something like NO ONE has ever been this bad, not been sent down, and turned out to be good......

 

I just don't get how throwing him out there against MLB pitchers at the start of the year helps him become the player many of us hoped he'd be......not at the beginning of this season anyway.

[tobi0040]

Through 600 AB, Hicks has an OPS of .606.  31 XBH. 140 K's and 60 BB.  He was 23 and 24 and promoted before he was ready.

 

Through 1,017 AB's, Gomez started with an OPS of .623.  66 XBH.  241 K's and 55 BB's.  He too was promoted too early.  He was a little younger, those were 21-23 stats.

 

So the guy needs more time, it is simply a matter of where is the best place for his development.  It is a fact that he has not really mastered AAA over any meaningful time period.  I think he could build up his confidence doing that and facing the likes of Johan Pino versus David Price.  But I think the Twins signed Hunter for Hicks primarily. So I think he is the CF again.