Brandon Hicks

by limozeen on Jun 29, 2008 12:35 AM EDT

Straight out of college, the Braves promoted him to the Sally League and he put up more walks than strikeouts with a .925 OPS. This year he's hitting for power at Myrtle Beach, one of the nastiest parks to hit in in the minors. The strikeouts seem to be a concern now, and they weren't before, but he's still walking a lot and crushing the ball when he does hit it.

Where do others see Hicks ending up defensively? He's a moderately sized guy for a shortstop, and I haven't heard much about his defense.

Not a bad third-round pick, that's for sure.

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outstanding defender

that is what i hear. lower the k’s a bit and he is a legit top prospect.

by bravitos5122 on Jun 29, 2008 2:26 AM EDT 0 recs

His D SHOULD be good

considering that coming out of Texas A/M he was seen as a glove guy whose bat was a little disappointing up to that point.

by nms on Jun 29, 2008 4:07 AM EDT 0 recs

+

As far as I know he was not a great hitter in college and was drafted on his fiedling..the fact he is hitting for power like his is huge.

BA had this to say in their write up on the Appy League last year:

Hicks barely qualified for this list, as he stayed only briefly in the Appy League before moving up to low Class A, where he hit .313. Undrafted out of San Jacinto (Texas) JC in 2006, he showed the all-around talents that made him a third-round pick in June.

Like Kozma, Hicks doesn’t have an outstanding tool but he profiles as a big league shortstop with solid ability across the board. He can drive pitches, draw walks and steal bases. Clocked in the low 90s as a pitcher at San Jacinton, he has a strong arm, reliable hands and good instincts at shortstop.

by jsmall404 on Jun 29, 2008 1:57 PM EDT 0 recs

defense and Ks

all reports I’ve heard on his defense are excellent, and supposedly Bobby was quite impressed with him during spring training.

the power is pretty stunning, particularly in that ballpark…and portends a huge breakout once he’s in AA.

but. but. but.

the Ks are just excessive. as was noted above, his previous track record wouldn’t indicate they’re such a problem. I noticed they’re down some in June, but so is his overall production. So, don’t know. They do say Myrtle Beach is a tough park to see the ball in, but he’s K-ing a ton on the road, too.

love to say he’s a top prospect, but …the Ks do worry me.

by scooter on Jun 29, 2008 3:09 PM EDT 0 recs

+1

unless he’s a middle of the order power hitter, the k’s are a worry….though, with all honesty, they’re the only real “worry” right now in how he’s performed thus far

by biggentleben on Jun 29, 2008 3:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

BUT

lets just say this guy is an above average major league SS defensively. I would take an above average SS with 15-20 HR power any day of the week..even if he hits 270 with 175 K/year. That is still a valuable player. So you hit him 6th or 7th in the lineup like a Khalil Green type player.

by jsmall404 on Jun 29, 2008 4:31 PM EDT 0 recs

also

as everyone knows that park is miserable for hitters…and I agree he could easily hit 20 HR in AA next year…making him a top 3 SS prospect…I would hope he gets moved up to AA this year but I dont think that would happen until his pitch recognition gets better

by jsmall404 on Jun 29, 2008 4:33 PM EDT 0 recs

Strikeouts are the key

I love the power but he can’t even be considered for top prospect status with his strikeouts this high. Let’s just put this in perspective. If you were to expand Hicks’ numbers out to 600 plate appearances, he’d have 188 strikeouts. I think at the very least his ceiling is a utility infielder because of his D and power but if he can cut down the strikeouts, then he could certainly be an impressive starter.

by was385 on Jun 29, 2008 5:56 PM EDT 0 recs

hm

power, a SS glove and 188 Ks could at least give him Jose Hernandez’s career

by nms on Jun 30, 2008 2:12 AM EDT up 0 recs

haaaa

and i read down and see that I was not the only one who thought of Jose Hernandez when I heard “188 strikeout SS w/ power”

by nms on Jun 30, 2008 2:13 AM EDT up 0 recs

you are way off

a good defender and a SS with that power is way more than a ULTI player..even with a 188 Ks..assuming they continue to be that bad. SS who can play the position and hit for power dont grow on trees..a team is not going to let Ks get in the way…

Ks are a good evaluatation tool but not a good look at how productive a player is. personally, I dont care if a player pops up to CF or Ks..an out is an out….the problem is that when a player does not put the ball in play, the chance of him getting on base greatly diminishes.

by jsmall404 on Jun 29, 2008 6:17 PM EDT 0 recs

K's do matter

More K’s equals lower batting average and a college player whiffing this many times in high-A ball should put up some warning signs that he could get man-handled at higher levels. It’s not like the guy has Adam Dunn power so that many strikeouts is going to lead to a very low batting average. As I said, a utility man is probably his ceiling because he’ll always be able to find a job with good power and defense. Again, if he cuts the strikeouts down he could be much better.

by was385 on Jun 29, 2008 6:35 PM EDT up 0 recs

Response

“Ks are a good evaluatation tool but not a good look at how productive a player is.”

Right. And we are EVALUATING what kind of prospect he is. We are not discussing how PRODUCTIVE he is. At this point you’d have to say that yes, he is producing right now. However, we are evaluating whether or not he will continue to produce as he faces better pitchers.

“an out is an out”

For purposes of production, for the most part yes (sacrifice flies not withstanding). For purposes of evaluation, no. And I think I already said that yes he’s a productive player at this point.

“the problem is that when a player does not put the ball in play, the chance of him getting on base greatly diminishes.”

Right. And when he is not able to get on base, he is not being a productive player. Thus far the Ks have not prevented him from being a productive player. Poor strike zone judgment increasingly affects a player’s performance adversely as he moves up. It stands to reason that without significant development, at some point he is probably going to face competition against which he will not be a productive player, or least not enough to be a regular.

This all being said, it’s his first full pro season and he’s doing okay for himself for the moment, so I’d cut him some slack. But he’s got some work to do, and if he fails as a prospect it will be pretty obvious in retrospect why it happened.

by mrkupe on Jun 29, 2008 6:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

yeah

i think you just echoed everything i said??? its not like im saying the strikeouts are not a big deal. i just dont think it effects his ceiling at this point…yet

by jsmall404 on Jun 29, 2008 7:50 PM EDT up 0 recs

Response

Either I refuted what you were trying to say or you do not know what you actually said. Everything you said suggests that you in fact do not think that his strikeout tendencies are a big deal.

“a good defender and a SS with that power is way more than a ULTI player..even with a 188 Ks”

“a team is not going to let Ks get in the way…”

So am I to assume that while you think it’s a big deal, major league teams do not? If that’s the case, then you’re arguing against the very first thing you said in that post.

by mrkupe on Jun 29, 2008 8:10 PM EDT up 0 recs

.

if he put up the same numbers in the majors as he is right now he would be an above average major league SS. IE if he was to K 188 for a ML team, they would not care if he still hit .270 with 20 HR power.
My point was, until the Ks affect his production, it is not a big deal

by jsmall404 on Jun 30, 2008 8:01 AM EDT up 0 recs

ceiling

I don’t think anyone said anything about a limited ceiling. I said that at the very least he should be a utility player with his power and defense but a strikeout rate this high is a very big issue. Again, like any player in his position, the key is going to be cutting down the strikeout rate as he progresses but to say that it shouldn’t yet be used in judging what he is capable of is like saying that we should ignore all stats from people in A-ball.

by was385 on Jun 29, 2008 8:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

not to spurn another comp

but jose hernandez had a pretty decent career doing nothing but striking out and hitting 20ish homers while playing middle infield….and i think hicks is a better defender than hicks already

by biggentleben on Jun 29, 2008 6:54 PM EDT 0 recs

erm

better defender than hernandez, that is…..

by biggentleben on Jun 29, 2008 6:55 PM EDT up 0 recs

Response

Sure. But in the minors Hernandez never struck out as much Hicks is doing when you adjust for age and competition. While he was never a low K guy by any stretch of the imagination, Hernandez didn’t become a most gruesome strikeout machine until he was in the majors . . .and being pretty dang productive with the bat while he was at it.

If Hicks was posting his statline in the majors then absolutely, he’d be considered a very productive major leaguer. But hell, guys with his statline in AAA ball end up being fringy major leaguers much of the time, so it’s understandable if some folks are exercising caution when it comes to a kid posting those numbers in A ball.

by mrkupe on Jun 29, 2008 7:20 PM EDT up 0 recs

exactly

and that’s why it’d be my only real concern about his playing….the only concern, but obviously not a small one in the scope of him moving from putting up pretty counting stats in the minors to doing the same in the majors….

by biggentleben on Jun 29, 2008 8:57 PM EDT up 0 recs