Aaron Hicks placed on disabled list by Minnesota Twins

24-year-old outfielder Aaron Hicks has been an interesting case in the world of Major League Baseball prospects in recent years. Hicks has garnered a great deal of attention in advance of each of the past two seasons with big-time efforts in Spring Training, and for the most part, he has been highly thought of as a potentially high-impact player at the highest level of the sport. However, Hicks has struggled mightily at the plate, and on Friday, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list as a result of a shoulder issue.

Prior to his shoulder injury, Aaron Hicks was best recognized this season for electing to give up switch-hitting less than a month ago, but it hasn’t mattered much from a production standpoint. In 156 plate appearances, the 6-foot-2 outfielder has an ugly .262 slugging percentage (with a paltry .198 batting average), and for his career, that number trends upward to just .314 in nearly a full season’s worth of at-bats.

The shoulder injury has seemingly bothered Hicks for quite some time, as he has remained out of the lineup, and for the sake of the team, the Twins are likely hoping that it was sapping his power production as well. The jury is firmly out on whether Aaron Hicks will ever reach his perceived potential, but it will be at least two weeks before he can begin an attempt at reclamation.