Aaron Hicks quietly posting good numbers in New Britain

[JB_Iowa]

If you mean minor league stats for a player, go to his minor league page and look for "Gamelogs & Splits" and pick the year you want. It's easy to miss. Not as elaborate as for the majors, but it's something.

 

I can find his stats for the year in the minors but is there somewhere that gives you the last 7 days, last 14 days, etc.?

 

Steve Lein gives his stats for the last 10 days.

 

Just looked at his stats on the Rock Cats site:

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=CF&sid=t538&t=p_pbp&pid=543305

 

 

Those last 10 games are looking more and more impressive.

 

 

Oh and that Rock Cats stats info is really nice.

 

 

EDIT: Thanks asbury, when I finally looked at the top and found the Gamelogs and splits, it does indeed have what you said would be there. DUH.

[ashbury]

EDIT: Thanks asbury, when I finally looked at the top and found the Gamelogs and splits, it does indeed have what you said would be there. DUH.

 

No DUH involved, like I said it's easy to miss - looks like a totally different web designer did the work on the MLB and MiLB pages. I think I was unaware of it until a few months ago, meaning it's either a relatively new addition or else I had missed it all this time.

 

Another pro-tip: if you want a custom (cherry picked ) set of stats over a period of time, go to the gamelog, click the first game you are interested in and it will highlight the line in light blue, then go down to the last game of the sequence and do a Shift-mouseclick, and it will do a computation and give you the stat line for the time period. Pretty slick. That way if you want a number of days the Splits section doesn't offer, you can DIY.

[JB_Iowa]

Slick trick, asbury. I'll try that!

[DJL44]

if it's correct that he's taking all his swings from the right-hand side

 

I am pretty sure he resumed switch hitting. That would explain the bounceback in his numbers.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I am pretty sure he resumed switch hitting. That would explain the bounceback in his numbers.

 

Do you have evidence of this? The splits have him listed as a RHB.

[jorgenswest]

Do you have evidence of this? The splits have him listed as a RHB.

 

Video of his home run on July 3

 

[jharaldson]

Video of his home run on July 3

 

 

The following site has all 83 PA's this year as RH.

 

http://minorleaguecentral.com/player?pid=543305&type=batter&split=2014

 

[jharaldson]

Something is screwed up here because I even cross-checked the schedule and found Hicks game from the youtube video above and it lines up with the Mets and it lines up with a HR. I wonder if the Minor League Central site is screwed up and not tracking this correctly.

[tobi0040]

Video of his home run on July 3

 

 

That was an imposter.

[clank2000]

Gomez always had oodles of talent but the Mets rushed him and the Twins inexplicably continued the process before trading him to the Brewers. The guy just needed development time, that's all.

 

I think the front office wanted to show fans an early return on investment from the Santana trade.

[TheLeviathan]

Video of his home run on July 3

 

 

My god is it both sad and surreal that we have to even debate this. Who'd have even thought they'd ever have to have such a conversation?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Video of his home run on July 3

 

 

There you go. Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

 

Sigh. Aaron Hicks.

[Brock Beauchamp]

My god is it both sad and surreal that we have to even debate this. Who'd have even thought they'd ever have to have such a conversation?

 

No freakin' kidding. What an absurd conversation and it speaks volumes about where Hicks is mentally right now.

[jokin]

There you go. Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

 

Sigh. Aaron Hicks.

 

No freakin' kidding. What an absurd conversation and it speaks volumes about where Hicks is mentally right now.

 

A lot less pressure down in AA...the original premise of re-learning how to hit RHP in a low-stress environment is apparently out the window...were there even 100 fans in attendance?

 

And good thing, no upper deck backgrounds to lose an OF fly in.

 

Curiouser and curiouser...

[JB_Iowa]

No freakin' kidding. What an absurd conversation and it speaks volumes about where Hicks is mentally right now.

 

 

I think it says more about where the people on this board are mentally right now.

[TheLeviathan]

I think it says more about where the people on this board are mentally right now.

 

Absolutely not. We're talking about one of the team's top prospects the last 5 years, who has been with the big league club, and we don't even know what side of the plate he's hitting from.

 

I mean, I can't believe I even typed something so absurd. I can't ever remember anything like that. It's another example of the truth being stranger than fiction.

[jokin]

I think it says more about where the people on this board are mentally right now.

 

I couldn't disagree more. Hicks has practically been dispatched to Siberia- the premise for his demotion is no longer even valid. I think everyone on this board is in much better mental health than where Aaron is, given what he's gone through (and put everyone else through, as well).

[JB_Iowa]

I find the discussion ridiculous when the information should be verifiable.

 

I sent a PM to Andrew Walter (Twins Fan From Afar) and asked him if he had been at games and could tell us what was going on or whether he had a contact in the organization who could verify.

 

I'll let you know what I hear or hopefully he'll post here.

[TheLeviathan]

I find the discussion ridiculous when the information should be verifiable.

 

That's part of what makes it so strange!

[JB_Iowa]

I couldn't disagree more. Hicks has practically been dispatched to Siberia- the premise for his demotion is no longer even valid. I think everyone on this board is in much better mental health than where Aaron is, given what he's gone through (and put everyone else through, as well).

 

From the numbers lately, it looks to me as though Aaron is getting his head back on straight. And, I think doing it away from the major league spotlight is a good thing.

 

Part of the problem was that the Twins rushed Hicks to the majors in the first place. Now you're trying to hasten the process again.

 

It hasn't been all that long. Let him get his confidence back. So far it looks like his demotion to NB is working -- the numbers have steadily improved.

[jokin]

From the numbers lately, it looks to me as though Aaron is getting his head back on straight. And, I think doing it away from the major league spotlight is a good thing.

 

Part of the problem was that the Twins rushed Hicks to the majors in the first place.

 

Now you're trying to hasten the process again.

 

It hasn't been all that long. Let him get his confidence back. So far it looks like his demotion to NB is working -- the numbers have steadily improved.

 

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that I am in absolutely no hurry to hasten the process in getting Hicks back to the majors. I think the Twins finally handled this whole debacle correctly, it looks like Hicks is finally now getting back on his bicycle, but I'm not even sure if he can handle that task without keeping the training wheels on for a while.

 

The young man still has a lot of work to do, and organizational trust to regain, over the rest of this season in AA, and then some soul-searching in the offseason. He's going to need a whole new game plan if he's going to get any kind of a look from the Twins in 2015....I'm fairly certain that a stopgap CF acquisition is already high on the Twins offseason shopping list (or maybe even this month in the case of John Jay).

[Blackjack]

 

It hasn't been all that long. Let him get his confidence back. So far it looks like his demotion to NB is working -- the numbers have steadily improved.

 

How can you not agree with that?? Let him have some success and EARN his way back to the majors!!! I don't want to see him back at Target Field until May 2015!!

[JB_Iowa]

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that I am in absolutely no hurry to hasten the process in getting Hicks back to the majors.

 

I'm sorry if I misinterpreted you, jokin but that's the way I interpreted this statement:

 

Hicks has practically been dispatched to Siberia- the premise for his demotion is no longer even valid.

 

I don't -- and didn't -- ever see the switch hitting as the only premise for his demotion.

 

Gardenhire said:

 

"It's getting your mind right and focusing on how to get better as a player, all the way around," Gardenhire said. "Get back to doing what (you) were doing. Right now, stabilizing yourself."

 

http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_26031631/twins-option-aaron-hicks-class-aa-new-britain

 

 

Now, some of that undoubtedly relates to his vacillation about switch hitting but overall it just looked as though Hicks had lost confidence -- that's probably part of what led to his initial decision to give up switch hitting.

 

I agree that he needs to spend more time in New Britain. If that works well, send him to Rochester for awhile. Try to undo moving him up too quickly the last two years.

 

All of this isn't on Aaron Hicks' head. Terry Ryan took some responsibility for the way it had gone, too. It is one of those situations that needs time to work itself out.

[jokin]

I'm sorry if I misinterpreted you, jokin but that's the way I interpreted this statement:

 

Hicks has practically been dispatched to Siberia- the premise for his demotion is no longer even valid.

 

I don't -- and didn't -- ever see the switch hitting as the only premise for his demotion.

 

Gardenhire said:

 

"It's getting your mind right and focusing on how to get better as a player, all the way around," Gardenhire said. "Get back to doing what (you) were doing. Right now, stabilizing yourself."

 

http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_26031631/twins-option-aaron-hicks-class-aa-new-britain

 

 

Now, some of that undoubtedly relates to his vacillation about switch hitting but overall it just looked as though Hicks had lost confidence -- that's probably part of what led to his initial decision to give up switch hitting.

 

I agree that he needs to spend more time in New Britain. If that works well, send him to Rochester for awhile. Try to undo moving him up too quickly the last two years.

 

All of this isn't on Aaron Hicks' head. Terry Ryan took some responsibility for the way it had gone, too. It is one of those situations that needs time to work itself out.

 

If you dig deeper, JB, there were all kinds of quotes from Antony on down to Gardy about how best to handle Hicks' decision to drop switch-hitting, from the day he announced it, to the day they sent him down on his rehab assignment. But you are correct, the change in his hitting MO is symptomatic of a deeper crisis of confidence, he appeared to be a rudderless sailboat in the middle of the ocean- like a boat, that when all else fails, it can still remain buoyant, only Hicks' ability to take pitches kept him afloat at the ML level. He desperately needs to get a solid game plan together and a decent amount of time to put in place- and barring catastrophic or other unforseen circumstances, he's going to get that time.

 

Looking at his numbers in New Britain, his K% and BB% are his best at any level he's played at, but he's still pounding the ball in the ground and/or making a lot of weak contact. He's going to need to put up some "wow" numbers and keep his head down....the drama he continually imposed on the major league club won't be so easily tolerated next time around.

[drock2190]

Literally one week ago he was hitting .190 and now hes hitting .270+ and everyones jumping on the bandwagon.

 

Small sample size here kids...

[JB_Iowa]

Literally one week ago he was hitting .190 and now hes hitting .270+ and everyones jumping on the bandwagon.

 

Small sample size here kids...

 

No, after the July 3 game, he was batting .245/.377/.408/.785

 

Now he is batting .284/.410/.403/.813

 

 

It is a small sample size but it is nice to see improvement rather than regression. If you look at June 27 (his first 10 games), his line was .171/.268/.286/.554 so while it hasn't been a miracle climb he has generally just shown some steady improvement.

 

I like that. He certainly has more to show and jokin is right, it would be nice if those hits were coming with some authority, but it is sure a lot better than seeing him wallow in the depths.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Hopefully he stays decent. I would like him to make it up to AAA at one point and hopefully continue there. Not sure what should happen in 2015. He's got one option left, but given the issues, I don't know if putting him on the roster is the right choice... I suspect a 1year stop gap in CF is needed. Of course the real issue will be what to do with Hicks, Rosario, and Buxton in CF as all will be looking for time in AA/AAA.

[Major League Ready]

Hick's last 10 games are pretty encouraging.

 

Ave. 406 OBP .500 SLG .563 OPS 1.063

[drivlikejehu]

Hicks has hit in AA before. He still isn't hitting the ball with any authority.

[ScrapTheNickname]

I'm afraid fans and the front office might give up on him too quick and he might become Gomez 2.0. Obviously he hasn't shown that he is a big leaguer but he still has the tools to be.

 

Not every x-Twin becomes a Gomez, this must be kept in mind. Span? Revere? They are both mediocre, disappointing players for their teams. (Span has upside yet though, I'm sure.)