Hicks

[klaiggeb]

He sure doesn't get much fan-fare, but has anyone noticed some of the darned near spectacular plays Hicks has made, and continues to make on defense?

I have.

The other night, that barehanded grab and throw for the DP, last night, the one handed grab and the other night, backing up Morse on that deflected GB and the throw to Hudson at 1B for the out.

He's not Crawford on Defense, but the two of them have teamed up for quite a middle defense combination, and as Krukow continues to point out, when he gets his hands on a DP flip, you can almost always count on the completion of the double play.

Strong arm!

Not only that, but in his last 2 games, he's scalded the ball 4 times for outs, while only coming up with 2 really HARD HIT hits.

6 really hard hit balls, 2 hits.

He's got holes in his swing, but I would sure like to think he's in the process of plugging up some of them.

boly

[Rog]

Not that I think he's got spectacular range, but what was it that led you to believe early on that he had Kent-like range? At the plate, he is accomplishing a couple of goals:

. Great power for a #8 hitter.

. Despite the very low average, a pretty good OBP for an 8th place hitter. And getting on so the pitcher doesn't have to lead off the next inning is one of an 8th-place hitter's top responsibilities.

He's hit righties and lefties about equally well, so he's not the typical platoon candidate. More strikeouts (43) than games played (41) is bothersome though. At least he's cut his strikeout rate down from almost one in three in April to almost one in 4 in May. OPS has been worse in May (.645) than in April (.815) though.

He's at 1.2 WAR so far this season though, so he's playing at a far higher level than a replacement player. Half his WAR has come from his defense.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop though. Joe Panik doesn't have a ton of experience, but he's hitting well at Fresno and is said to have a professional swing and to play like a veteran. If Hicks were to falter, I wonder if the Giants would bring Panik up for at least a platoon, so that if they don't feel by the trade deadline that he can do the job, they could make a trade for a second sacker.

Of course, there's always the possibility -- probably slim -- that Marco Scutaro will still be able to play this year. And if he is able to play, I wonder how it will affect his hitting and his range. Hicks has been a godsend, but how long can he keep it up?

[Rog]

As for luck beyond just the past two games, Brandon has hit lower than would be expected on both fly balls and ground balls in play. His line drive and ground ball percentages are below average though, and he won't keep hitting one out of six fly balls out of the park.

The strikeouts are the killer though. If he wants to get up anywhere near a .240 average, he's almost certainly going to have to cut down his strikeout rate.

The two things are are keeping his hitting even at an acceptable level are his walks and home runs. Those two areas he's very good at. And I wonder how sustainable either of those two rates is.

[klaiggeb]

Roger--Not that I think he's got spectacular range, but what was it that led you to believe early on that he had Kent-like range?

---boly says---

Rog, I made that statement really early in the season, and I have since recinded it many times.

In fact, I stated his range was better than Kent's, and not by a little.

Allen disagreed, in fact.


All I now see is a steady, above average defender who "looks" to be smoothing over some holes in his swing.

As you said; pretty good power for a mostly 8 hole guy.

boly

[allenreed]

Still disagree. Hicks seems to always be positioned well. Could be Hicks, could be Wotus. He catches almost everything hit to him and has a good arm. Doesn't have even good range. Average at best.

[Rog]

Allen -- Still disagree. Hicks seems to always be positioned well.

Rog -- It is amazing how much better players have become positioned in just the past few seasons. Quite an evolution to the game. It may be because spray charts give a more dependable picture than scouting and because teams are listening to their analytic types more and more often.

Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/2280/hicks#ixzz32jrav6DP

[Rog]

By the way, I think both Boly and Allen are right to a degree. Hicks does a particularly good job of going to his left, sliding, then spinning a throw to second base to start a double play. He does have a strong arm, and he is usually positioned very well.

As I pointed out a week ago, he plays very deep, which helps to increase his range.

[klaiggeb]

Rog--
As I pointed out a week ago, he plays very deep, which helps to increase his range.

--boly says---

This is true. I agree.

I love Scutaro, but I've always said that on defense, he was average, at best, and his arm isn't even close to the equal of Hicks, nor does he have the power.

We could have done a LOT worse than Brandon over there.

A lot worse.

boly

[Rog]

If you love Marco, you'll likely love Joe Panik. Joe's pretty much a left-handed hitting version of Marco, probably with better range than Marco at this stage of Marco's carer. The scouting report on Joe was that he could be adequate at shortstop, but could make a pretty good second baseman. My guess is that Joe would be marginal at short at the major league level, although his bat might carry him there. Shortstop seems to be becoming a better position these days though, both offensively and defensively.

Joe has a .293/.363/.396/.760 minor league career line, with about a walk and a strikeout every nine at bats. That's a very good walk rate and an excellent strikeout rate. Marco hit at a .290/.370.433/.803 clip in the minors, playing at an older age than Joe has. Marco walked every 10 at bats and struck out once every 8.

Let's not forget either that while Marco has hit very well for the Giants, he's a .278/.341/.389/.730 career hitter. Basically, an average hitter for a position player. An above-average hitter for a middle infielder.

That's probably Joe's ceiling. Probably a little higher average than Marco but not quite as much power. Joe isn't considered to have a particularly high ceiling, but he is believed to have a high floor, meaning he'll almost certainly contribute in some form.