Why Aaron Hicks could be the Yankees’ most improved player in 2017

From the numbers Aaron Hicks put up through the first four months of the 2016 season, it’s hard to process that he is a former first-round draft pick.

Hicks’ batting average was below the Mendoza line for much of the regular season, and his cannon of an arm showed little accuracy in the outfield. On top of that, he was absent on the base paths, failing to record a stolen base until the calendar hit August. This was after posting a career high in steals in Minnesota the year before.

Although Hicks’ overall statistics for the 2016 season are ugly without a doubt, evidence hid behind those numbers of a player starting to recognize some of his potential that scouts saw when he was drafted in…