It's Time For Aaron Hicks

Yep, so when he has mastered AAA they should call him up.  I guess I don't count a month as proof that he has it mastered or that he has nothing left to gain from playing in AAA.

Ordinarily, I would agree with you and keep him down another 2-4 weeks.  But with the Buxton dynamic, literally being as close as 30-45 days away I bring Hicks up now.

I personally think Hicks is ready to be promoted.  However, both the Twins and fans need to temper expectations to a degree.  He shouldn't be expected to put up his AAA stats in the Majors.  If you look at his trend in his career in the minors he usually gets moved up when he excels at a level then seemingly struggles a bit before adjusting and playing better.  That said this is by far his best season to date and he is playing at the highest level he has played outside of the 2 short stints with the Twins. Perhaps he has "figured it out". Either way, if he can come up here hit .270/.330/.400 i would say that is a great success and something to build on as well as an improvement over what is currently in CF for the Twins.  If he comes up and hit a .200/.250/.300 or something with regular playing time it may be time to move on, but give him enough time to sink or swim. 

Are they really still developing him though? He's 25 and he's got almost 1500 plate appearances in the majors + high minors. I'd say at this point they're in more of an evaluative stage, and I simply don't see how they can properly evaluate him while he's handling Triple-A pitching.

 

What is the risk in bringing him up? If he can't hack it in an extended opportunity this time around I think you know all you need to know. And at least then you're making an actual effort to field a competent starter in center.

While I am advocating leaving him down for a little while longer, I do agree with you that there comes a point where you bring him up for an extended period of time and he just has to do it.  If he can't cut it, then we switch to a stance of "he is what he is" and will serve as a 4th OF that can play all three positions.

I don't think anyone has suggested cutting Robinson.  Robinson could certainly remain as a 4th OF for now, and perhaps continue in that role indefinitely.

 

Neither one needs to start to be further evaluated (and even contribute) in that role, though.

Little out of context as i was responding to someone saying he isnt part of the future, when all i was saying is he or someone like him is needed on a team to fill the 24th or 25th man role. But I also understand that he doesnt need to be evaluated.........I will go on record and say, that I thought bringing up Hicks at the time, was slightly premature(i was wrong, way premature) but I thought he would develop while being given time at the MLB level, he didnt...........But now that it didnt work, i am more than happy for him to regain confidence before returning to the majors, if it is next week or middle of June, i am fine with it......I just want it to be for good next time he is up......I think we all want the same thing, just we differ on how we start or get there

I will say , i am excited about the possibilties of LF Rosario, CF Buxton, RF Hicks, or if not Hicks, Arcia.

2016 Lineup.

1 Buxton

2 Dozier

3 Mauer

4 Plouffe

5 Vargas or Arcia

6 Rosario

7 Suzuki

8 Hicks

9 Santana

Bench: Escobar, backup catcher, Robinson

I am not going to sift through this all after my initial post. I do think that those concerned about Hicks' long-term role might want to consider the possibility that it is Oswaldo Arcia who will be traded (along with either Vargas or Pinto) by Aug. 1 2016 at the latest. Rosario-Buxton-Hicks could be sick defensively if the offensive production is there. Kepler, Walker, Harrison, and Ortiz add potential OF depth (with 1B too, in the case of Kepler for certain, and maybe Walker and Harrison eventually).

For Robinson lovers, keep in mind that he is coming down to earth and is what he always has been--Ben Revere lite. 

I don't want that around in 2016, at all. And Schafer should already be gone.

Who would we send down? I don't think that Schafer has done anything to deserve to be sent down, and the Twins are winning, so do you really want to change a clubhouse that has a good chemistry? Really the only thing that I would approve of is no more starts in the outfield for Escobar, send down Bernier, and use Hicks as a 4th outfielder who gets fairly significant playing time from all the outfield positions. Buxton could also force our hand soon, and Shane Robinson is hitting .315, so it seems like the Twins actually have a good problem. Oh, and by the way, Eduardo Nunez actually hit well in the limited at bats he got, so when Arcia and Nunez come off the DL, that will be another thing for the Twins to deal with. It might be fun to see Hicks and Hunter play together, though.

The arm and accuracy that Robinson has shown is nowhere close to Ben Revere lite. One doesn't have to be a Robinson lover to have noticed that and give him his dues. Robinson has great routes to the ball, which Schafer does not, and neither did Ben. Ben consistently hits for a much higher average, and his arm is a noodle. What examples to you have that Robinson is anything like Ben Revere?

I am not advocating for Robinson to be kept longer than needed, but I say Schafer is the first to be replaced, then Robinson. Both should be gone as Hicks, Buxton, and Rosario are brought up to stay.

What if they play better than Hicks, Buxton, and Rosario? For quite some time I have considered Robinson to be one of the best bench players in baseball, and if he still is we should keep him for 2016. We should not have Buxton and Rosario on the bench.

The Twins seem to have a plan for Hicks. If that plan was to give him extended time in AAA, they need to follow through. Extended time might be June 1 or Memorial Day, but it is still too early now. I would have had him as a platoon 4th OF. Though I disagreed with their plan, I do believe they need to follow through. It is important to have a plan in developing players and not react to small samples.

The Twins seem to have a plan for Hicks. If that plan was to give him extended time in AAA, they need to follow through. Extended time might be June 1 or Memorial Day, but it is still too early now. I would have had him as a platoon 4th OF. Though I disagreed with their plan, I do believe they need to follow through. It is important to have a plan in developing players and not react to small samples.

Memorial Day is 2 weeks from today.  Barring absolute collapse in the meantime (by either the team OR Hicks), I'm good with that.

Hicks worked hard to find his way into Molitor's doghouse.  Molitor was one of the most prepared professionals to play the game,  if your head is not in the game, then you will not be playing for the Twins.  I believe it is not the stats, but the issues in Hicks's head that are keeping him in Rochester.  That may take longer than most posters think to fix.  It could be Hicks's future is not here, but do not want to give him away without a chance(read Carlos Gomez).  Some players just take longer to figure things out.  This was the major knock on Bill Smith, he deferred to Gardy way too much.  But Terry Ryan has the problem of (if Hicks is going to be in the doghouse for having his head not in the game and Molitor does not want to use him then what choice does Terry Ryan have).  Hicks has very limited trade value at this time and I do not want a repeat of Carlos Gomez given away.  Make sure Hicks understands the game before he comes to Minnesota.

I'm down with Hicks getting another shot, provided he has addressed the issues he was told to address at Rochester. On the surface, things look great. But who knows what Mollie and staff expect him to accomplish?

Not me.

You admit that they have twice "royally messed up" his development, but are completely willing to buy into their assessment of his present readiness? 

 

I'm not making this argument based on 19 box scores. I'm making it based on the fact that he's quite clearly more talented than the current occupants, and he was a more valuable asset in the lineup even when struggling last year (at least he got on base), and they need to get another long look at him in the majors due to his options situation + other OFs coming up through the system. 

 

If you think his makeup or maturity or approach might still need work that's fine, I just don't see why we wouldn't want him working on those things under Molitor/Brunansky and alongside Hunter while also improving the quality of the MLB roster.

Haha, I didn't give your article a re-read to check, but do you find yourself wishing often that you would have written some of the stuff in the original article instead of in subsequent posts!? Probably a time-saver .

The last point is pretty important. And it makes me think that the Twins care less about his "head" than many Twins fans do.