Article: Aaron Hicks. He's So Hot Right Now.

[Parker Hageman]

On Thursday night, Minnesota Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks left Target Field one one-thousandth of a point away from owning a .300 batting average.

 

To understand how incredible that is, consider the state of Hicks' season and career to this point. Heading into July he was hitting .247 with equally embarrassing on-base and slugging figures to match. Because the numbers mirrored his output from his first two seasons at the major league level, the expectations were low on his being able to contribute. But the numbers didn't bother Hicks because he was focused on the process, not the results. The hits would eventually come. And did they ever. So far this July Hicks has posted the eighth-best OPS (1.051), which was only bested by some of the game’s premium names like Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.

 

How did Aaron Hicks suddenly join some of the league's best hitters?

This month’s performance has been a long time coming for Hicks. After hitting .201/.293/.313 in 150 games spread out across 2013 and 2014, Hicks decided he needed to make a change. Over the winter he rebuilt his swing. When he reported to camp, Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky liked the direction he was going.

 

 

“The first couple years it was inconsistent,” Brunansky said about Hicks’ swing in spring training. “He couldn't find and then he'd find it and lose it and then he'd get frustrated. I think he's more mature and he's got an idea both right-handed and left-handed what his swing feels like and what it should feel like -- which should help make it repeatable. Which he has been in the cage. It's just the consistency in the game.”

 

The difference in the swing is easy to see even with the untrained eye. Rather than the small step forward as he did in the past, Hicks added the bigger leg kick as the pitcher delivers the ball.

 

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While the swing looked substantially better than the past, other aspects of his game were an issue. The Twins staff were not completely happy with his decision-making and mental mistakes. And at the plate, while his swing looked better, they were looking for more aggressive swings and for him to attack the ball early in the count. They felt that time in Rochester would allow him to work on that game-ready consistency.

 

Hicks manhandled AAA pitching, hitting .303/.404/.523 in 34 games in Rochester.

 

 

The redesigned swing allowed for him to improve his contact from both sides of the plate. His line drive rate was the highest of his career and his strikeouts were at an all-time low. The leg kick provides him with a solid timing mechanism but it also allows him to use his lower half.

 

What allowed him to drive the ball better was not just simply lifting his leg to start his swing, it was what his body was doing in addition to the leg lift.

 

Watch how previously Hicks had gathered or loaded up before firing forward with the bat. As he strides towards the pitcher, Hicks coils his top half somewhat, loading his hands and bat before they begin their forward path. Keep an eye on Hicks’ belt and front hip. There is minimal inward turn. He was not loading much with the lower half meaning that the driving force in this swing was his top half.

 

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Since changing the swing, during the gathering process when the hands go back, he turns his hips inward as well, producing a more complete drive to meet the ball.

 

http://i.imgur.com/mZZxtYn.gif

 

Overall, Hicks’ performance from the left side is improved but not game-changing. Instead of being a complete liability against right-handed pitchers, Hicks has basically transitioned to being a league-average hitter. The real improvement has been his production against left-handed pitching. You can see a similar load process difference from the right-hand side as well.

 

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Whereas his right-handed side had always been his dominant side, this season he’s batting .404/.460/.632 against left-handed pitching. Take a look at his increased zone coverage from that side of the plate:

 

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In addition to getting comfortable with his mechanics, Hicks upgraded his approach at the plate.

 

For several seasons, one area in which the Twins hoped he would improve upon is his ability to be aggressive in hitter situations. Far too often Hicks would let pitches in hitters’ counts go by for called strikes. Members of the coaching staff and front office alike were unhappy by this passive approach -- patience is one thing but if a hitter receives a hittable pitch and lets it go by, that frustrates the everyone. This season, Hicks had pulled the trigger much more frequently in those situations to impressive results: From 2013 to 2014, Hicks offered at 40% of all pitches in hitters’ counts. This season he has swung at 49% of all pitches in hitters’ counts.

 

Makes sense, right? Once the swing is optimized, engage more in counts in which one will see more fastballs and in-zone pitches.

 

Likewise, when Hicks previously fell behind in the count, he was all but back in the dugout thinking about his next at-bat. From 2013 to 2014, he batted just .132 while striking out in just shy under 50% of those plate appearances when the pitcher got the upper hand. The biggest factor for that was a complete inability to hit breaking pitches. Even with the platoon advantage of having sliders and curves break at him, he still managed to hit just .105 off of those pitches.

 

This season he has not been a complete pushover: When the pitcher gets ahead in 2015, Hicks is hitting .270 -- twice as much as he did the last two seasons -- with three of his home runs to boot. Whereas breaking balls gave him fits in the past, he has hit .206 against them this year -- another hundred point increase.

 

Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky believed a lot of the empty swings and weak contact had to do with Hicks’ head moving too much during his swing. In order to fix his line of sight, Brunansky went to work on Hicks’ foundation.

 

“Hicksy moved his head a lot,” said Brunansky this spring. “What's going to stop your head movement is a strong base. What's a strong base is your legs and core. So you have to get that under control to keep everything strong here which will stop your head from movement.”

 

That is where the new mechanics played a substantial role in reducing his strike- outs. Over the last two years, Hicks struck out in a quarter of his plate appearances. This season he has reduced that to 15%.

 

Aaron Hicks is clicking right now and has positioned himself as an invaluable contributor to begin the season’s second half. Things may eventually change as opposing teams gameplan him differently but, for now, Hicks will always have this hot month of July to remember. If he can continue to hit close to this level, he provides Paul Molitor and the Twins a new weapon to use at the top of the order.

 

 

 

 

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[Monkeypaws]

Great to see Hicks put it together. His confidence looks through the roof right now.

[DJL44]

If he can hit low and away with authority then it's hard to get him out

[Brock Beauchamp]

[TJW]

Hicks . . . Surprisingly Hicks!!!

 

He just has looked like a different guy since returning from the DL.  He walks differently, and he seems to have so much more confidence.  Good to see. Hopefully, he keeps it going.  Plus - they intentionally walked him to get to Mauer.  The Mauer haters must have been going crazy. 

[nytwinsfan]

So there is basically no question now that Hicks is going to be a big leaguer, either as a CF and/or a platoon hitter against lefties. The question for the Twins, especially with Rosario also heating up, Kepler obliterating AA, and Buxton waiting in the wings, is whether he will hit well enough against righties to be an every day corner outfielder. I know Hicks has a .651 OPS against righties this year, which is fine for a CF, but doesn't really cut it for a corner OF.  Does anyone know how to break down splits by month? I'd be interested to hear how Hicks has done against righties the last month or two.

[spinowner]

 

The question for the Twins, especially with Rosario also heating up, Kepler obliterating AA, and Buxton waiting in the wings, is whether he will hit well enough against righties to be an every day corner outfielder.

I'd rate Hicks way higher defensively as a right fielder than anybody else who would play that position. I think he's the everyday right fielder next year. Rosario and Arcia should cover left field. They would also play right on Hicks' and Buxton's days off and also DH.

[nytwinsfan]

 

I'd rate Hicks way higher defensively as a right fielder than anybody else who would play that position. I think he's the everyday right fielder next year. Rosario and Arcia should cover left field. They would also play right on Hicks' and Buxton's days off and also DH.

 

It isn't 100% clear to me he is a better defender than Rosario (or even Kepler), but given that you are probably right, is that added marginal defense worth the drop off in offensive production on days when righties are pitching? Kepler, Rosario, and Arcia would likely all hit significantly better than .651 OPS against righties, and the first two with only marginally worse defense.

Edited July 31, 2015 by nytwinsfan

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

It isn't 100% clear to me he is a better defender than Rosario (or even Kepler), but given that you are probably right, is that added marginal defense worth the drop off in offensive production on days when righties are pitching? Kepler, Rosario, and Arcia would likely all hit significantly better than .651 OPS against righties, and the first two with only marginally worse defense.

I think the best scenario is to create a quasi-platoon whenever possible. The Twins have enough warm bodies who can hit to make it work, provided they don't trade any of them today.

 

Hicks still gets a considerable amount of PAs against righties but he doesn't play every day against them. Arcia occasionally gets the nod and plays the role of "horrible defensive Ben Zobrist" on the team, moving around, getting regular PAs, but not playing every day.

[nytwinsfan]

 

I think the best scenario is to create a quasi-platoon whenever possible. The Twins have enough warm bodies who can hit to make it work, provided they don't trade any of them today.

 

Hicks still gets a considerable amount of PAs against righties but he doesn't play every day against them. Arcia occasionally gets the nod and plays the role of "horrible defensive Ben Zobrist" on the team, moving around, getting regular PAs, but not playing every day.

 

I tend to agree. I'd like to see Hicks playing corner against lefties and weak righties, and Kepler and Rosario getting the rest of the corner OF starts. Buxton in CF, backed up by Hicks. I dont' know if Arcia makes sense in OF given the other four promising options we have (five if you count Walker).  The only place he should be playing is DH, and unless the Twins move Plouffe and put Sano at 3B, I don't really see that happening.

[jimbo92107]

Last year I observed Hicks doing what I called "The French Mistake," h/t to Blazing Saddles, where he'd push his butt away from the plate prior to bringing his hands forward to hit the ball. This ensures that your lower half cannot contribute to the force of your swing, making Hicks an arm hitter.

 

Turning your butt towards the pitcher is the secret of hitting a baseball really hard. It compresses the spring of your legs and allows you to create more propeller rotation of the bat, which needs to be more than 360 degrees to get the ball moving over about 100 mph.

 

Watch the swing of Bryce Harper or Prince Fielder. You see more of their back as they lean into the pitch, which means they're turning their butt farther than Hicks, even the Hicks of today. Their bats go through a propeller rotation well over 360 degrees, sending the ball off their bats at over 105 mph. The extra velocity drives more grounders through the infield and more fly balls over the fence, increasing their batting average, just as it does for Hicks.

 

Point is, Hicks can do this more, too. It starts with turning the butt more, which allows more shoulder turn. No more French Mistake for Hicks. He's finally learning to throw the bat, without quite letting go. This is no fluke; these improvements are here to stay. Aaron Hicks has learned how to swing a baseball bat!

[birddog]

I am one of the Mauer bashers who was pleasantly stunned when Hicks was intentionally walked to get to Mauer. And once again it gets down to the great prospects we have getting stonewalled for another 3+ years by the mediocrity wearing #7. He is in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak which looks impressive--but he has 2 hits in only one game during the stretch with 1 RBI. We are still waiting for a reason to stop the bashing.

 

Sano looked more than adept at 3B with a cannon of an arm. What a shame it will be if he is forced to DH. And how disappointed we will be if we don't get to see prized prospects like ABW and Max Kepler at the ML level. If they are traded to bring in present-and-into-the-future pieces like Kimbrel or Chapman so be it, but if they go to get us a bandaid RP for this year only, Twins fans will have the same feeling in their gut that we get when we see David Ortiz hit and what we missed out on. Very tough job you have TR.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

IWhat a shame it will be if he is forced to DH. And how disappointed we will be if we don't get to see prized prospects like ABW and Max Kepler at the ML level.

I'm not sure the "prized" moniker should go alongside either of those guys but I definitely know it shouldn't go alongside one of them.

[Parker Hageman]

I'm not sure the "prized" moniker should go alongside either of those guys but I definitely know it shouldn't go alongside one of them.

 

 

You are vastly underrating Max Kepler. 

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

You are vastly underrating Max Kepler. 

Damn it all, Parker. Stop calling me out like that.

[Zachary]

Right now I like the sound of Rosario-Buxton-Hicks. Maybe Arcia gets shipped before the day is over. The Twins would suddenly have a pretty damn good defensive outfield. 

[birddog]

A month ago I was afraid of the Twins trading Arcia, but now it looks like he is for sure the odd man out with Hicks playing great offensively and defensively. He probably doesn't have much value right now, so would it be better to trade him in the off season after he hopefully has a great end to the season? Still young and a very potent bat.

[Dantes929]

Pretty much from the start Hicks has been major league quality from the right side and though .405 is not sustainable the focus should still be on his splits.   If he can continue to hit around .250 from the left side and over .300 from the right side he is an every day guy with breaks against rightites.   Otherwise he is still a platoon guy and a very good and valuable one.   I still wish he had never tried bating left.    Rosario, HIcks, and Buxton  is a very real possibility and would transform our outfield from glaring weakness to better than anyone.

[GP830]

I'm sorry, but the first sentence in this article is atrocious. 

 

"On Thursday night, Minnesota Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks left Target Field one hundredth of a percent away from falling asleep owning a .300 batting average."

 

This is my favorite site, and I generally like your writing, Parker. But jeeeeeeez. 

[by jiminy]

Thanks, Parker, I love these analyses -- I always see more after you've pointed stuff out. It is really noticeable in the older clips how he's only using the top half of his body, not his legs. He does seem to use his whole body more.

 

In a previous post on Hicks you pointed out how he didn't plant his front foot, but just rolled over it. That doesn't seem to have completely stopped.

 

His high step does seem to help his timing and to involve his whole body. But another benefit of the step, I thought, was you start to move your whole body forward, plant your foot, and transfer that forward momentum to your bat. I don't see that happening with Hicks. Do you think planting his front foot instead of rolling over it would help?

 

Not knocking where he is now -- hey, I'll take it -- just wondering if you see the upward trend maybe continuing even further.

 

[Parker Hageman]

I'm sorry, but the first sentence in this article is atrocious.

 

"On Thursday night, Minnesota Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks left Target Field one hundredth of a percent away from falling asleep owning a .300 batting average."

 

This is my favorite site, and I generally like your writing, Parker. But jeeeeeeez.

 

 

God, you are right! One thousandth of a point! Urps. Thanks.

 

This is also my favorite site and, I'm sorry, I've never read your writing but I'm sure I would generally like it too.

 

 

[GP830]

I appreciate you taking my comment in jest. I criticize because I <3.

[Zachary]

It's just nice to see this from a guy who has probably gotten the most crap in the last year or so (maybe other than he-who-must-not-be-named). hopefully it continues

[hybridbear]

The Twins seem to be doing quite well this year against LHP, I imagine that Hicks big difference is a part of it. He seems to be playing well. I like the idea of Rosario, Buxton, Hicks against LHP next year and Arcia, Buxton, Rosario against most RHP. 

[JB_Iowa]

I'm very happy for Aaron Hicks.

 

And I continue to be amazed by the almost universal belief that Byron Buxton will be the "be all and end all".

 

Still waiting for him to show something other than his speed.

[spinowner]

 

I think the best scenario is to create a quasi-platoon whenever possible. The Twins have enough warm bodies who can hit to make it work, provided they don't trade any of them today.

 

Hicks still gets a considerable amount of PAs against righties but he doesn't play every day against them. Arcia occasionally gets the nod and plays the role of "horrible defensive Ben Zobrist" on the team, moving around, getting regular PAs, but not playing every day.

This is what I picture as well. Buxton plays center when he's in the lineup. Hicks plays right when he and Buxton are both in the lineup; he plays center when Buxton is not. Rosario plays right when Buxton or Hicks is not in the lineup; he plays left when the other two are both in the lineup. Arcia plays left when one of the other three is not in the lineup and DH otherwise. Sano covers DH on the days when Arcia is in left; he plays third base otherwise. (That's a loaded sentence, isn't it?)

[spinowner]

 

And I continue to be amazed by the almost universal belief that Byron Buxton will be the "be all and end all".

Still waiting for him to show something other than his speed.

Dude is only 21 years old. You probably won't have to wait too much longer, but even if it's a couple years I have a feeling the young man will be in the majors for a long time.