Article: Hope for Hicks

[ThePuck]

Because magically he is going to be able to hit RH pitching from the right side after not doing it for years?

 

I don't know about magically. Didn't the switch hitting come about more to utilize his speed? Do you have stats about how he did as a RH batter against RH pitching and is it worse than what we're seeing him do as a LH hitter versus RH pitching?

[gunnarthor]

I don't know about magically. Didn't the switch hitting come about more to utilize his speed? Do you have stats about how he did as a RH batter against RH pitching and is it worse than what we're seeing him do as a LH hitter versus RH pitching?

 

He's always been a switch hitter. His dad (a former ML minor leaguer) wanted him to stick with golf so he told him if he was going to play baseball he had to do it left handed. And he was still a stud. Twins drafted him and had him as a switch hitter from day one.

 

I'm not sure if he wouldn't have been a better hitter if he had stayed right handed but it is what it is at this point.

[Mike Sixel]

Why is it what it is at this point? Why can't he be a RH hitter full time? I'm not saying it would work, but I never understood why they didn't try it at some point in the minors.

[ThePuck]

Why is it what it is at this point?

 

It isn't. There is nothing stopping them from saying no more LH batting.

[cmathewson]

Third in homers on the Twins is like being what? There must be some internet MEME here we can use......

 

Fun with numbers. He's also fourth in RBIs.

[cmb0252]

During Hicks minor league career he was not only a slow mover but a slow starter, most switch hitters are, so I'm confused by the high expectations. I find it funny how excited people got over a few at bats in spring training but now are down on him because of a few at bats in the bigs. I think this is a case of people over valuing spring training numbers and not knowing enough about Hicks as a prospect.

 

Hicks is going to be fine. Not only has he shown improvements in the outfield but as noted above since starting 3-53 he has hit pretty well.

[ThePuck]

During Hicks minor league career he was not only a slow mover but a slow starter, most switch hitters are, so I'm confused by the high expectations. I find it funny how excited people got over a few at bats in spring training but now are down on him because of a few at bats in the bigs. I think this is a case of people over valuing spring training numbers and not knowing enough about Hicks as a prospect.

 

Hicks is going to be fine. Not only has he shown improvements in the outfield but as noted above since starting 3-53 he has hit pretty well.

 

I've been high on Hicks for quite some time now...well before this ST...my thoughts haven't changed one bit.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Third in homers on the Twins is like being what? There must be some internet MEME here we can use......

 

Is that, like, when we were kids and we divided into two teams and the captains took turns picking and when there were only two left you were glad they picked you since it meant you weren't last?

 

Or, did that not happen to anybody else.

[beehles]

Hick and Arcia should start some kind of competition among each other to motivate and rub off one another...see which rookie can put up better numbers in each series. Loser buys team steak dinner haha

[gunnarthor]

Why is it what it is at this point? Why can't he be a RH hitter full time? I'm not saying it would work, but I never understood why they didn't try it at some point in the minors.

 

He hasn't done it at all as a pro. He's 23. He has over 2100 minor league PA. The Twins aren't going to tell him to go back to the minors and get another 500 milb at bats righty on righty. I don't know if they should or shouldn't but it's done at this point. Unless he completely fails hitting as a lefty, they aren't going to pull the plug.

 

I sorta agree with you. I think he should have hit RH full time (or at least I hope the Twins thought about it and decided that he had enough ability to switch hit).

[Guest USAFChief]

Since going 3-for-53 in his first 15 games, Hicks is hitting .250/.310/.519. He's been hitless in only three of his last 15 starts. He ranks first on the team in steals, third in homers, third in runs scored. He's been scaling back the strikeouts and improving his defense in center field. Obviously his overall numbers are still ugly because the season-opening slump was so brutal, but he's done enough since then that a demotion shouldn't be in discussion right now.

 

I don't think anyone should be surprised that he's struggling from the left side... that's just going to take time.

 

I posted a similar thing recently, but to repeat and update, the improvements at the plate have been steady and continuous since the terrible start:

 

Hicks OPS, season: .152/.256/.286

last 28 days: .233/.329/.467

last 14 days: .235/.316/.618

last 7 days: .333/.412/.800

 

Leave the kid alone, and let him play. He had a horrible start to the season, and since it WAS the start of the season, the numbers got way too much attention. Players go through slumps and hot streaks, always have and always will. Mauer went through one. Willingham is hitting .111/.347/.167 over the past 2 weeks, but nobody is calling for him to lose his job.

 

As for switch hitting, it's a huge advantage, if the player can pull it off. We don't know yet that he can't, so any calls for him to abandon it are premature as well.

[Mike Sixel]

Why is SH a huge advantage, in isolation? Hitting only RH is a "huge advantage if the player can pull it off", I'd think.

[Guest USAFChief]

Why is SH a huge advantage, in isolation? Hitting only RH is a "huge advantage if the player can pull it off", I'd think.

Having the platoon advantage as a hitter has been an advantage for almost all players throughout the history of baseball. It's why managers bring in a right handed reliever to face a RH hitter, and vice versa. It's why managers stack the lineup with RH hitters off LH pitching, and vice versa. It's why Mauer is better against RH pitching than LH pitching. If you can switch hit, you always have the platoon advantage.

[Seth Stohs]

Random question for Seth. Who took that picture? Where did it come from?

 

It's a photo by Jesse Johnson, and it's from USA Today. Thanks for pointing that out. Trying to get better at including the credit to the picture. I have added it now.

[fairweather]

Hope for Hicks.....if he comes to the realization that he's a RHB.

[70charger]

It's a photo by Jesse Johnson, and it's from USA Today. Thanks for pointing that out. Trying to get better at including the credit to the picture. I have added it now.

 

I wasn't trying to call you out or anything; I just thought it was a good picture.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

I posted a similar thing recently, but to repeat and update, the improvements at the plate have been steady and continuous since the terrible start:

 

Hicks OPS, season: .152/.256/.286

last 28 days: .233/.329/.467

last 14 days: .235/.316/.618

last 7 days: .333/.412/.800

 

Leave the kid alone, and let him play. He had a horrible start to the season, and since it WAS the start of the season, the numbers got way too much attention.

 

Amen! With that said, it would be nice to see Hick's batting average climb over .200 by the All-Star Break, with increased production over the second half of the season. Of course, if the wheels fall off, AAA is an option, but that would be a "fail" for Hicks, and the organization.

[ThePuck]

For me, it doesn't matter how his overall numbers end up...it matters what he does from here on out. His first month will make his overall numbers take a huge hit, but if he keeps getting better, it won't tell the true story by the end of the year about the type of player he is.

[TheLeviathan]

So he really hasn't been that slow in improving this year. That's a big jump from the horrific start.

 

Well, yeah, being one of the 5 worst starts for a player's career in MLB history gives you a lot of room for growth. Gotta keep things in perspective when you throw stuff like that around.

 

I hope tonight was the start of a really solid career for him. If these first two months, where everyone was worried about team control, are the launching pad for a great career. Screw the extra year of service, this investment will be more than worth it.

[Siehbiscuit]

Hicks started switch-hitting because of how his father's basball career pretty much ended. His dad, a RH hitter, took one to the head and was never the same. His dad taught him how to hit left-handed so he could lessen the risk of the same thing happening to his son.