Among those who have mentored Aaron Hicks in the past and are watching his improved season is Rod Carew. “I’ve always liked Aaron Hicks,” Carew told Sports Headliners by telephone last week.
The Twins 25-year-old center fielder flopped in 2013 and 2014 after making the club’s major league roster and becoming a starter. He hit .192 and .215 in 81 and 69 games those two seasons, and experienced demotions to Triple A Rochester. This year the switch-hitter and skilled fielder didn’t even start the season with the Twins but the way he’s played this summer indicates Hicks will fulfill the promise Carew and others have seen. “He’s got tremendous talent,” said Carew who is a special assistant for the Twins organization.
Carew played 19 seasons in the major leagues including 12 with the Twins. His lifetime average of .328 is among the best in baseball since 1950. He won seven batting championships and played on 18 All-Star teams.
Can Hicks become an All-Star? “Well, he’s got the talent,” Carew answered. “It’s all up to him.”
Hicks, who has been moved up from near the bottom of the batting order to the leadoff position, is hitting .272 with eight home runs and 25 RBI. He has 243 plate appearances, or close to the equivalent of a half season. His numbers in the last 30 games, including a .277 average and 17 RBI, are impressive. However, in the past 15 games the inconsistency that occurs during a long season is evident. In that stretch he is hitting .219, although he has homered three times including Monday night in New York against the Yankees.
Hicks has turned heads with his fielding. His spectacular catches have Twins fans also anticipating the arrival of Byron Buxton in the outfield. A combination of Hicks in left field and the even speedier Buxton in center will close down outfield space for opposing hitters. Hicks has no errors and eight assists this season.
Carew was famous for driving the baseball to all fields and he is seeing that trait in Hicks. “I think he’s using the whole field a lot better,” Carew said. “I think when he first came up he was trying to pull everything. He’s got some power and once he starts thinking about home runs, that’s when he starts getting into a rut. He just needs to continue thinking about driving the ball to all fields.“
In past years Carew believes the 6-2, 210 pound Hicks was putting too much pressure on himself including trying to hit balls over the fence. “Every time I see him I really stay on him and try to get him to maintain his focus,” said Carew who lives in California but travels to Minneapolis to assist the Twins. “I think Torii (Hunter) has been a great help for him too because Torii has that presence in the locker room to help the younger players out.”
Hunter has hit 18 home runs with 60 RBI as the Twins 40-year-old regular right fielder. No doubt Hunter, Carew and others in the organization who have mentored Hicks would like to see him playing at a high level when he is 40.
Worth Noting
Carew was born on a train in Panama in 1945. Early in his big league career fans knew him by the nickname “Choo-Choo” but he doesn’t answer to it now. “No one calls me that,” he said.
Florida wide receiver Dredrick Snelson is among the most hyped high school players who have made verbal commitments to sign with the Gophers next February but recruiting authority Ryan Burns told Sports Headliners Marshall, Minnesota WR Drew Hmielewski has the “potential” to be even better. Snelson, with three and four-star labels from recruiting sources, is also the “least solid” to keep his commitment among Minnesota’s recruits, according to Burns who is publisher of Scout’s GopherDigest.com. Snelson, described by Burns as an “excellent route runner,” is scheduled to visit Minneapolis for the Gophers game against Michigan on October 31.
Burns raved about Hmielewski, praising his athletic and leadership qualities. He can foresee maybe ranking Hmielewski a four-star recruit this fall. Like former Gophers All-Big Ten receiver Eric Decker, Hmielewski is an outstanding high school baseball player. Hmielewski also excels at basketball.
Last fall Burns was excited about quarterback Demry Croft who ended up signing with the Gophers and is now a freshman earning compliments from head coach Jerry Kill. Burns is even more enthusiastic about quarterback Tony Poljan who has verbally committed to be part of Minnesota’s 2016 class. He was impressed with Poljan’s throwing mechanics this summer and said the 6-6, 215-pound passer-runner from Lansing (Mich.) Catholic High School reminds him of a “young Ben Roethlisberger.”
Quoting Kill on Croft after last Saturday’s scrimmage: “He’s just an instinctive guy. He’s had a heck of a camp. It’s kind of like watching (Teddy) Bridgewater. He doesn’t get excited about anything. …There’s nothing that rattles the kid. He’s got an extreme amount of talent. He’s been very impressive in camp.”
Although the negative publicity about former Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague has been national news, Burns said the impact on football recruiting has been nil. He judges the 15 recruiting commits as the highest quality class yet in the Kill era that began in 2011.
Early speculation is the Gophers might have the best defensive secondary in the Big Ten, certainly ranking near the top. That’s a benefit and challenge for Minnesota starting quarterback Mitch Leidner—to practice against the skilled group of cornerbacks and safeties.
“You learn your progressions and reads better,” Leidner said. “You don’t see the coverages (in games) that they do. They disguise them well. …Some of the best athletes in the Big Ten are in our secondary, so it’s definitely helpful.”
While the Gophers may reach a final total of 4,500 or so student season tickets, some other Big Ten schools dwarf that number. Penn State has sold out its student allotment with 21,000 tickets, while last year Ohio State totaled over 29,000.
It will likely be a bittersweet homecoming for Christian Ponder on Saturday night when the former Vikings quarterback returns to Minneapolis with the Raiders. Ponder has friends here but he didn’t permanently win the starting quarterback position with the Vikings during a four-year career. His confidence couldn’t have benefited from booing and heckling Vikings fans. Ponder, who is projected as a reserve with the Raiders under former Vikings offensive Bill Musgrave, completed six of eight passes with one touchdown and one interception for Oakland last week in the team’s preseason win against the Rams.