New York Yankees: Why Aaron Hicks Deserves to Play in the All-Star Game
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks is swinging a hot stick lately. Does he deserve a nod at the midsummer classic?
Aaron Hicks isn’t on the ballot for potential All-Star game players. In fact, the only way he can get into the July mid-summer classic is via a write-in on the ballot.
That puts the Yankee outfielder at a disadvantage from others currently on the ballot, but the former Yankee backup and now every-day player undoubtedly deserves to go to Miami and represent the American League after the first half that he’s had.
Aside from Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, Hicks’ numbers this season are some of the best in the American League and baseball in general among outfielders.
He’s tied for seventh in the American League with 36 RBI, ranks fourth with a .317 average, third in OBP at .429, third in slugging percentage at .584, third in OPS at 1.013 and fourth in WAR with 2.7. Hicks also finds himself at fifth place in the A.L. with 13 doubles, fifth with 31 walks and tied for eighth with 36 runs scored.
What’s even more impressive about the season Hicks is having so far is that his numbers compare favorably to other likely All-Star selections around baseball and rank right up there with the best that the game has to offer.
His .429 OBP is the sixth-best in all of baseball, trailing the likes of almost certain All-Star players in Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Buster Posey, all of whom are at the top of their respective leagues in terms of votes.
His 1.013 OPS is good for eighth in all of baseball and trails the likes of a Harper, Judge, Ryan Zimmerman, Joey Votto and Zack Cozart.
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Regardless of how well he has played in 2017, Aaron Hicks remains a long shot to make an A.L. All-Star team that he should get a chance to play for.
He not only has some of the better numbers in baseball, but more often than not ranks in the top 10 and even the top five in most statistical categories among outfielders in the A.L.
The only thing Yankees fans and others with a good eye for talent who feel Hicks deserves to play in the All-Star game can do is to write him in on their ballots and hope that the rest of the country feels the same way about this budding young star.