Hicks - Hunter comparison

[mnfanforlife]

After Hicks' 4-5 day with 3 bombs and 6 RBI...its hard not to get excited about his immense potential to become a MLB star. I understand this is "just Spring Training," but you don't just lace up the cleats and have that kind of day without serious talent. (no matter what type of pitching you're facing)

 

Would anyone like to comment on the comparison between Aaron Hicks and Torii Hunter?

This has been described to be "way off base" for some, but I see it as a reasonable comparison. Your thoughts?

[notoriousgod71]

After Hicks' 4-5 day with 3 bombs and 6 RBI...its hard not to get excited about his immense potential to become a MLB star. I understand this is "just Spring Training," but you don't just lace up the cleats and have that kind of day without serious talent. (no matter what type of pitching you're facing)

 

Would anyone like to comment on the comparison between Aaron Hicks and Torii Hunter?

This has been described to be "way off base" for some, but I see it as a reasonable comparison. Your thoughts?

 

I'd say he's more comparable to Babe Ruth at this point.

[Kwak]

Hicks is definately opening some eyes! He probably won't be hitting lots more HRs this Spring--but he will see a lot more breaking balls in the dirt, or way off of the plate. Rickey Henderson used his power to truly fatten his OBP with BBs--pitchers just didn't want to "lay it over the middle" (PtoC) for awhile after he hit a dinger. Patience and a keen eye (as well as all that speed, and base larceny) made him the Runs Scored leader. No, I don't think that Hicks will score 2,000+ runs, but I do see him as a mainstay in the OF--in April!

[Mchans24]

He did whaaaaattttt? I don't care if he is facing High school pitching.....3 bombs in a game is amazing! Considering Joe Benson had a golden sombrero I'm guessing he is out of the CF contest?

[Thrylos]

Nobody knows what Hicks will become, so I am trying to compare them as prospects:

 

Like Hunter, Hicks was also a first round pick by the Twins (14th overall vs 20th overall) from High School and, like Hunter was has been a 5-tool prospect. Hunter cracked the BA top prospect list once (#79 overall in 97,) Hicks did it 4 times with #19 being the highest. Hicks has more speed than Hunter and about similar power (if you exclude Hunter's numbers in SLC in the PCL league, after he was send down by TK, which were unbelievable.) Hunter made it to the bigs at age 23 (for good, had a cup of coffee before) and Hicks might make it too. Unlike Hunter, Hicks is a switch hitter (and he finally is flourishing at switch hitting after all the grief he got). Hicks draws walks at about twice the pace that Hunter did. Finally, Hicks has much better numbers, even if you include Hunter's crazy SLC numbers: .271/.379/.421 vs .270/.334/.417. And Hicks is actually a really nice and quiet guy in real life. Hunter, oh well...

 

So, yeah... Hunter is definitely a potential, but Hicks is a better prospect than Hunter was and his ceiling is higher than Hunter. We shall see what happens.

[John Bonnes]

Off the top of my head, they don't seem real comparable. Hunter wasn't a switch-hitter & was a football guy. Hicks is MUCH less of a free-swinger and a golf guy.

 

What in their minor league careers seems similar ?

[Thrylos]

He did whaaaaattttt? I don't care if he is facing High school pitching.....3 bombs in a game is amazing!

 

one of them off Cliff Lee, the other off a AAA prospect (pretty decent actually) and the other off a guy who is an old minor leaguer. The awesome thing is that he hit them from both sides of the plate... And that had been a major criticism about him

[minn55441]

So what do you think is the competition over?

 

the season starts 3 weeks from Monday. Does Masty have enough time to get healthy and still play his way into a starting job?

[edavis0308]

Remember that one year Craig Monroe lit it up in ST?

[Seth Stohs]

If people have seen the video, all three were hit right handed. The first and the third were hit to the opposite field, and were definitely wind-aided. Normal conditions, they're fly bals to right field. The one to left field, was a shot!

 

Thrylos compared the two as prospects very well. Hicks is the better of the two prospects. Neither hit for average, but Hicks walks much more. Hicks can switch hit. Speed, in my opinion, was the same and both have very strong arms. Power pretty similar. It's actually a pretty good comparison. We'l see how it turns out.

[josecordoba]

Hicks reminds me more of Mike Cameron. Cameron has much more patience at the plate then Hunter.

[twinsnorth49]

He's could be the next Luke Hughes at this rate.

[108 Double Stitches]

The awesome thing is that he hit them from both sides of the plate...

 

Hate to quibble, but they were all from the right side. His broken bat 2 run single came from the left side.

 

He did pull one HR and go the opposite way with the other two bombs. So he did spray the ball different bleacher

sections.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Denard Span's take on who should start for the Twins.

Denard Span ‏@thisisdspan

Unreal game by @AaronHicks31 today! Do the right thing @twins.#lethimplay

[Top Gun]

So spring training doesn't mean anything?

[jimbo92107]

I don't expect Hicks to have another day like this in spring training, but this would appear to make it harder to send him down to AAA. However, I did see Hicks completely blow a couple fielding plays. He missed a cutoff man, and he overran a one-hop fly ball.

 

All in all a pretty good day for Aaron Hicks.

[Kobs]

Off the top of my head, they don't seem real comparable. Hunter wasn't a switch-hitter & was a football guy. Hicks is MUCH less of a free-swinger and a golf guy.

 

What in their minor league careers seems similar ?

 

Both have a very urban playing style.

[LaBombo]

It's always nice to see a prospect look sharp in spring training, especially one

who everyone hopes to see with the big club sometime this season.

 

That being said, Hicks' homers say much more about what a ridiculously ineffective gauge

of a player's ability spring training is than they say about Hicks. It's great for his confidence,

but I'm just looking for him to make contact and get on base. If he adds power to the tool box,

bonus.

 

Regarding future potential, Hicks will go as far as his left-handed swing will take him.

Everything else is there, from all accounts. And I'll throw Carlos Beltran into the mix

for comps. Toolsie switch hitter, much more effective batting right-handed. They're grain

of salt at best, but here are the Cube's grades for their offense:

 

Beltran: Speed 77 Contact 54 Patience 71 Batting Average 62 Power 70

Hicks : Speed 78 Contact 47 Patience 94 Batting Average 60 Power 68

 

Beltran is a perennial All Star, so of course he represents the best case outlier for Hicks.

How about 'Poor man's Carlos Beltran' as a realistic goal, with Hicks partially compensating

for lower average and much less power (the cube vastly under-rates Beltran) with more walks

and maybe a bit better defense.

 

I'd be very happy with that, and I'll bet the Twins would be too.

[LaBombo]

So spring training doesn't mean anything?

 

No. Just next to nothing. It's great that Hicks is off to a fast start, but it has

little to do with predicting his path going forward compared to his minor league

record and accumulated scouting.

[J-Dog Dungan]

After seeing both Mastro and Hicks so far, I think the best thing for the Twins to do would be to have Hicks start in CF and keep Mastro on as the 4th outfielder. It would give the Twins a good defensive replacement in the late innings to Willingham/Parmelee.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Both have a very urban playing style.

 

Holy crap, my Snark-O-Meter just pegged at 11.

[Mike Sixel]

Big fan of Hicks. I was having doubts early last year, but am totally back on the bandwagon at this point. I look forward to seeing him for the next few years. If he turns out to be as good as Hunter, we should all be happy.

[Guest USAFChief]

Holy crap, my Snark-O-Meter just pegged at 11.

Yup.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Big fan of Hicks. I was having doubts early last year, but am totally back on the bandwagon at this point. I look forward to seeing him for the next few years. If he turns out to be as good as Hunter, we should all be happy.

 

We'd all be happy with that, I think.

 

On the other hand, there are reasons to think he might be better than Hunter.

 

It's a bad comparison all-around. Hicks is a switch-hitter, Hunter is not. Hicks has patience, Hunter did not. Hicks had several very good years in the lower minors, Hunter did not. Hicks hasn't hit for average since rookie ball, Hunter came to prominence by hitting .337 and then .368 in AAA. Hicks strikes out .9 times a game, Hunter struck out around .7 times per game.

 

Other than position and skin color, there's really nothing all that comparable about the two players.

[Mike Sixel]

Agreed, Brock...but I do think they have range and good arms in common, Hicks has more arm, I can't say about range for sure.

 

As hitters, they strike me as having almost nothing in common in terms of approach. I agree, he could be better than Hunter, I was just stating that if he's just as good as Hunter, I'd be thrilled.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Agreed, Brock...but I do think they have range and good arms in common, Hicks has more arm, I can't say about range for sure.

 

As hitters, they strike me as having almost nothing in common in terms of approach. I agree, he could be better than Hunter, I was just stating that if he's just as good as Hunter, I'd be thrilled.

 

Defensively, I suppose they're comparable. *shrugs*

 

My statement wasn't geared so much at you as the original poster. The comparison is a bad one because offensively, they're not even close to the same player.

 

But I think all of us would be happy if Hicks performed on the level of Hunter... But if he does, he'll do it in a completely different way. It still means the comparison is a bad one.

[Mike Sixel]

Agreed on that, and I knew you were not talking to me specifically.....man, this call at work is boring.....

[John Bonnes]

I just compared their minor league careers. For those that are interested:

 

Differences

Hunter moved up the ladder quicker, though he stalled out in AA for parts of three years. Hicks repeated Low A.

Hunter never showed Hicks speed and stolen base numbers.

Hicks is far more patient than Hunter ever was, both in a good way and a bad way. At comparable ages, each year Hicks had roughly 50-100% higher strikeout numbers and 100-200% higher walk numbers.

Hunter was never a highly acclaimed national prospect. He only appeared on the BA Top 100 list once, at #79.

 

Similarities

Both were very fast CFers, showing a little mix of power and speed, but....

Neither showed much power. Hunter topped out at 10 HR in a year prior to his promotion.

About the same overall batting average.

Both really achieved significant time in the majors when they turned 23 (or so I presume with Hicks this year.)

 

So achievement-wise in the minors, they are pretty similar, but they seem like they have quite different tool sets to get there. It's also worth noting that Hunter struggled that first year in the majors, getting only 384 AB and hitting just .255 with a 689 OPS. And the next year he spent a lot of time in AAA. It wasn't until his 25-year-old year that he really broke out.

[worm33]

I think Hicks best comp as a hitter is Milton Bradley. Prolly a better person though

[diehardtwinsfan]

Point number 1: Sample size much? This was one game. One good game, but seriously this may be the best game of his career. One game should not make a decision on where he ends up.

 

Point number 2: I'm not sure about the Hicks/Hunter comparrison, and to be honest, any Hunter comparrison is dangerous. Hunter was a late bloomer. That rarely happens. Hicks could do it, yes... and that's far more likely given that they are both hitting the bigs at a very young age, but to project that type of improvement on Hicks would hardly be fair to him. Not to mention the fact that their hitting styles are nothing alike.