Twins Round 1, Pick 14

by Jesse on Jun 5, 2008 3:27 PM EDT in Draft Coverage Comment 9 comments

Minnesota Twins select Aaron Hicks, Outfielder, Woodrow Wilson High School, Born 10/02/1989

Height: 6'2" Weight: 170 lbs
Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Comments from MLB.com's Draft Tracker:

Hicks is one of the more athletic outfielders in the high school ranks and perhaps in the Draft class. How high he gets drafted depends on how highly people project what he can become. He's got a ton of tools, but will he learn how to use them? Someone is sure to take that chance.

From MLB.com's Draft Central Scouting Report:

Focus Area	Comments
Hitting Ability:	Hicks generally has an idea of what he wants to do at the plate, but sometimes gets away from it, using his athleticism more than a polished game plan.
Power:	He has raw power potential, showing flashes of it in BP. He's more gap-to-gap in games now, but should develop the ability to hit the ball out of the park as he gets bigger.
Running Speed:	He's a plus runner who ran a 6.6-second 60-yard dash at the showcase.
Base running:	He needs some work on his technique and jumps. He can outrun some throws at the high school level, but will start getting caught stealing once he advances.
Arm Strength:	He's got a plus, plus arm from the outfield and has even shown the ability to throw in the mid-90s from the mound.
Fielding:	He's a plus defender who glides to the ball with very fluid actions.
Range:	With his plus speed, he covers a lot of ground in center field from gap to gap.
Physical Description:	Hicks is a very athletic, projectable, toolsy outfielder.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	Plus athletic ability; projectable tools in all areas; plus arm and speed.
Weaknesses:	If he doesn't hit, those raw tools will be wasted. It's been mostly projection with glimpses of performance.
Summary:	Hicks is one of the more athletic outfielders in the high school ranks and perhaps in the Draft class. How high he gets drafted depends on how highly people project what he can become. He's got a ton of tools, but will he learn how to use them? Someone is sure to take that chance.

From Keith Law's in-progress first-round draft analysis at ESPN.go.com:

In terms of tools, Hicks is one of the top three or four players in the draft. He's first-rounder as an outfielder and a pitcher. He is relatively unpolished, so he should take a long time to get to the majors. He's gotten by a lot on strength and bat speed for now. The Twins will have to work with him on his hitting approach. He has a chance to be a switch-hitting Andrew McCutchen, one of the top prospects in the minors.

HS Stats at Wilson HS:

Batting

Season	GP	BA	OBP	SLG	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SF	HBP	SB/Att
2008	34	.473	.624	.839	134	93	50	44	12	5	4	23	37	13	1	2	37/41
2007	35	.370	.496	.550	137	100	46	37	7	4	1	21	27	19	4	2	44/45
2006	28	.379	.471	.494	103	87	23	33	5	1	1	9	15	10	0	0	26/26

Fielding

Season	Pct.	E	A
2008	.967	2	13
2007	.947	3	8
2006	.913	4	1

Pitching

Season	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	H	K	BB	BA	WHIP	WP	HBP	GS	CG	SO	R	ER
2008	8	2	1	1.16	72.1	41	112	31	.157	1.00	7	10	13	3	2	26	12
2007	3	0	3	1.13	18.2	12	27	8	.188	1.07	1	3	0	0	0	3	3
2006	0	0	0	0.00	3.1	1	5	2	.100	0.90	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

From John Manuel, who's live-blogging over at Baseball America:

As expected, Minnesota selected Aaron Hicks and announced him as an outfielder. Hicks has pushed his fastball up to 97 mph, and many teams liked him better on the mound. But Hicks wants to hit, and BA’s Dave Perkin has been on Hicks as a hitter since, well, before we hired him.

From ESPN's Draft Tracker (Insider Required):

...As a hitter, Hicks has outstanding bat speed from both sides of the plate, accelerating his wrists from a fairly deep load to still generate plus plate coverage. He generates power from the right-hand side just from his wrists and forearms, similar to Andrew McCutchen. From the left side his swing has a little more loft and he gets good carry on balls. His power is easy and is only going to improve with better instruction, but he's still raw as a hitter, with poor pitch recognition and an unwillingness to use the count to his advantage. In right field, his instincts aren't great, but he covers a good amount of ground and has a rifle for an arm. As a pitcher, Hicks works in the 92-95 mph range but has hit 97 repeatedly this spring, and could settle in at 94-97 as he matures physically. He throws a hard, downward-diving slider and a changeup with a hard tumble -- in fact, everything he does as a pitcher is hard, from his lightning-quick arm to a stiff front leg as he lands....

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Comments

This

is a great pick!! Hicks has a high ceiling and also can pump up a fastball to 97 MPH so he will have a strong arm from the outfield.

by 33MorneauMVP on Jun 5, 2008 3:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Stats

Jesse, if it’s okay, I’m going to add stats to this post.

by Jon Marthaler on Jun 5, 2008 3:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was just about to thank whoever posted those.

Thanks very much. Any admins can feel free to add information as they find it.

by Jesse on Jun 5, 2008 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Do you know if there are any pitching stats available for him?

by Jesse on Jun 5, 2008 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes. I'll get them posted in a minute.

by Jon Marthaler on Jun 5, 2008 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Balls.

Thank you, sir.

by Jesse on Jun 5, 2008 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t know how this works, but is there any chance they work with him on the arm and the hitting at the same time? I don’t know how much time these things take, and how much doing both increases injury potential. It seems to me, though, that if you kept his pitch count down, he could pitch every five days, throw bullpen in between, and OF the other days.

Just curious. If people are worried he may not become a great hitter (tools don’t equal skills), then is there an effective way to hedge your bet?

by snolls on Jun 5, 2008 3:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Hedging Bets

Lots of extra work. Which isn’t always the best idea since it can tire you out. That one will take a little time to figure out, but it’s a good question. I’m curious about the same thing.

by Jesse on Jun 5, 2008 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs