Hicks and Revere entered the Twins organization 1 year apart, Revere getting drafted in the first round in 2007 and Hicks in the first round in 2008. Though they never played on the same minor league team, they frequently crossed paths and developed a bond.
"He's a good kid, hard worker - everything," Revere said.
At Double A New Britain last season, Hicks hit .286 with a .384 on-base percentage, .460 slugging percentage, 13 home runs and 32 steals. While he is expected to start the season in the minors, many observers expect the Twins to give him a shot in the majors at some point in 2013.
On Thursday, Hicks took three major league pitchers deep, homering off Cliff Lee in the first inning, Jeremy Horst in the fifth inning and Raul Valdes in the seventh.
"Though he's a switch-hitter, his most power is from the right side," Revere said. "The first at-bat . . . I knew it was gone right off the bat. The second one was pretty impressive, into the wind. That's pretty good power."
Revere has had a solid spring himself, carrying a .303/.343/.333 batting line into Thursday's game (he ended up going 1-for-4).
Ruf stuff
Darin Ruf had a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run as the designated hitter. The converted first baseman entered the day 3-for-23 with one extra-base hit and six strikeouts in Grapefruit League play while struggling with his transition to leftfield. In the second inning, Ruf went down to get a breaking pitch from righthander Kyle Gibson and drove it to right-center for a two-run double in the second inning. Ruf will start in leftfield Friday against the Rays in Port Charlotte.
Howard sits
Ryan Howard will not be making the trip to Port Charlotte, which means he will be getting his first day off of the spring. John Mayberry Jr. is starting at first base for the Phillies against the Rays. Howard went 1-for-3 against the Twins and is hitting .364/.389/.727 with three home runs, 11 RBI and five runs in 12 spring games.
Phillers
Last year, switch-hitting utility man Freddy Galvis hit just .208/.231/.331 with 13 extra-base hits in 130 at-bats as a lefty. Thursday against the Twins, he lined a triple to the right-center gap off Kyle Gibson, giving him four extra-base hits in 18 at-bats from the left side . . . Kyle Kendrick is scheduled to start Friday against lefthander David Price. Also scheduled to pitch: Mike Adams, Mike Stutes and Aaron Cook . . . Friday's lineup: 1. Freddy Galvis, SS; 2. Kevin Frandsen, 2B; 3. Michael Young, 3B; 4. Carlos Ruiz, C; 5. John Mayberry Jr., 1B; 6. Darin Ruf, LF; 7. Domonic Brown, RF; 8. Josh Field, DH; 9. Michael Martinez, CF . . . Jonathan Papelbon continues to recover from an illness that scratched him from his last scheduled appearance. He threw a bullpen session Thursday, as did Tyler Cloyd (forearm tightness) and B.J. Rosenberg (triceps soreness).
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