Aaron Hicks May

[jokin]

Hasn't UZR/150 been pretty much debunked as useless without a sample size of a few years? I can't speak for his deception abilities or lack thereof, but he seems to have vastly improved his defense over the last month or so. I know that his web gems probably bias me more than anything, but he's seemed much more consistent the longer he's played. He's been described as defensively ready for the big league center field job by scouts and prospect experts for a couple years now, and it's not like he lacks the athleticism. I'd say his more recent exploits are much more indicative of his defensive ability than his horrendous first month.

 

The number quoted was UZR, not UZR/150. Not a perfect measure by any means in the 2 month time frame, but far better than UZR/150.

 

Hicks has improved, but he continues to misjudge balls- he just last week took a bad angle on one missed ball, had the ball hit his heel on another and then got completely turned around on another- going right and then turning completely back around to the left and then back in the direction he first started from. Clearly, he is capable of incredibly athletic plays, it's going to be a work in progress for him to more consistently make the more routine plays.

[Thrylos]

Hasn't UZR/150 been pretty much debunked as useless without a sample size of a few years? .

 

UZR (and thus UZR/150) needs 3 years or data to be significant. Good reading here. For shorter samples +/- and DRS are probably slightly better, but not immune to peaks and valleys.

 

So give Hicksie a couple more years before you bring up UZR.

[Oxtung]

UZR and subsequently, UZR 150 is an accurate representation of a players play so far. However, it is not representational of Hicks future abilities until more data is collected. So while it would be accurate to look at the UZR data and say that Hicks has been below average it would not be accurate to say he is a below average center fielder.

[Shane Wahl]

While Hicks has been "major league ready" defensively for awhile, this ignores the fact that reading a ball off a bat in AA is different than when major leaguers hit the ball. It takes time to adjust. And is another reason why he should stay with the Twins.

[Mike Sixel]

Regardless of which stats you want to use, does anyone see the great CFer we were led to believe he already was? I am pretty sure we read how he was major league ready, and better than a lot of MLB CFers. So far, we have not seen him be consistently good. I am relatively confident that will come over the next 18 months, but so far, he's not what I expected based on what we read and heard on the radio.

[Mr. Ed]

The Twins are 4 games under .500, and at this point,I refuse to believe re-adding Clete Thomas is going to make that much, if any difference in their fortunes. Thomas failed badly last year when he had an opportunity.

Stay the course with Hicks.

[Craig Arko]

I think Hicks will become one of the top CFs in the league. Just in time for Buxton to come up and move him to a corner, opposite Arcia. I pine for these days.

[cmathewson]

The best guys don't always get good jumps on balls. But all the best guys make up for it with great speed. Ben Revere, for example. I'd put Hicks on par with Revere at this point. He doesn't look like he runs as fast as Revere because of the long strides, but he does.

 

Hunter was the best I've seen at getting good jumps. But he needed to, cause he did not have great speed. Also Edmonds. Span is one of the rare talents that get great jumps and have great speed. That's why he's elite. I'd put Gomez and Ellsbury in the same class.

 

Hicks is not there yet. But he is getting closer. He had a rough first month. I saw far fewer poor jumps in May. I'm not surprised is UZR/150 is not the greatest yet. But I think he'll be above average in UZR by the end of the year. Not that I give a lot of credence to that stat. When you play behind a bunch of line drive pitchers (ahem, Pelfrey, Worley, etc.) it's tough. Line drives that land in your zone hurt your UZR despite the fact that you can't do that much about them.

[Guest USAFChief]

?

While Hicks has been "major league ready" defensively for awhile, this ignores the fact that reading a ball off a bat in AA is different than when major leaguers hit the ball. It takes time to adjust. And is another reason why he should stay with the Twins.

huh? How is reading a ball off the bat different in AA?

[Siehbiscuit]

Aaron Hicks is a rookie! For the love of all that is holy, take a breath people. Give him some time to figure these things out. Its not like he is going anywhere anytime soon.

[Shane Wahl]

?huh? How is reading a ball off the bat different in AA?

 

Uh, do major leaguers hit the ball harder?

[Snortwood]

Hicks is playing too deep. Somewhere in the deep lizard-brain of the Twins playing deep in CF was encoded in the genes of every middle outfielder to account for cutting off the ball scootching thru on the turf in the 'Dome to keep extra bases to a minimum. Those days are over, but the idea still holds.

 

Go to a game at Target Field and compare the depth of their CF to where Hicks plays and, at least in the two games I was there this year, he was 10-15 if not 20-25 feet deeper. Balls are falling in front of him that other CFs would catch. More opportunities for assists is not necessarily a good thing.

[Guest USAFChief]

Uh, do major leaguers hit the ball harder?

Uh, no.

[Guest USAFChief]

Hicks is playing too deep. Somewhere in the deep lizard-brain of the Twins playing deep in CF was encoded in the genes of every middle outfielder to account for cutting off the ball scootching thru on the turf in the 'Dome to keep extra bases to a minimum. Those days are over, but the idea still holds.

 

Go to a game at Target Field and compare the depth of their CF to where Hicks plays and, at least in the two games I was there this year, he was 10-15 if not 20-25 feet deeper. Balls are falling in front of him that other CFs would catch. More opportunities for assists is not necessarily a good thing.

That holds true for all three Twins outfielders. They routinely play their OFs deeper than other teams.

[TheLeviathan]

"Middle Outfielder" We need to get that one to Bert.

[Carneal&Gordon]

Hicks is improving week by week and I never heard anyone say he was going to be a great center fielder right off the bat after skipping AAA.

 

It takes time and if there's ever a season to see players develop it's 2013.

[Shane Wahl]

Hicks is improving week by week and I never heard anyone say he was going to be a great center fielder right off the bat after skipping AAA.

 

It takes time and if there's ever a season to see players develop it's 2013.

 

Apparently major leaguers don't hit the ball harder than minor leaguers . . . .

[Guest USAFChief]

Apparently major leaguers don't hit the ball harder than minor leaguers . . . .

They don't. I am surprised someone would think they do. AA players swing with the same range of bat speeds as do major leaguers. Pitchers throw in the same velocity ranges. Hitters knock home runs on fields the same size as big league parks. They hit screaming line drives and bloops off the end of the bat. They run just as fast. A CFer in AA makes the same plays he'll be making in the big leagues.

[John Bonnes]

They don't. I am surprised someone would think they do. AA players swing with the same range of bat speeds as do major leaguers. Pitchers throw in the same velocity ranges. Hitters knock home runs on fields the same size as big league parks. They hit screaming line drives and bloops off the end of the bat. They run just as fast. A CFer in AA makes the same plays he'll be making in the big leagues.

 

The one difference I've consistently heard about playing outfield defense in the majors versus the minors is that it is harder to read the ball off the bat in the majors. That's because major league parks are much bigger and fuller, so it doesn't clear the crowd as early. There was even a name for it that I forget - something like '3rd deck vision" or something.

[Guest USAFChief]

The one difference I've consistently heard about playing outfield defense in the majors versus the minors is that it is harder to read the ball off the bat in the majors. That's because major league parks are much bigger and fuller, so it doesn't clear the crowd as early. There was even a name for it that I forget - something like '3rd deck vision" or something.

 

Good point. I can even remember hearing all the white homer hankies as a background causing issues.

 

But as to batted ball types, not much if any differences.