Pop quiz: There are four players in the majors this season that entered Tuesday with a walk-to-strikeout ratio of 0.75 or better, an isolated power of at least .200 and have created at least three runs of baserunning value per Fangraphs’ BsR metric. So basically this is a list of guys with elite plate discipline, above-average power and strong baserunning skills. Who are they?



The answer is Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, José Ramírez and… Aaron Hicks.



This is not a piece about why Hicks is an AL MVP candidate — there are obvious other reasons why Betts, Trout and Ramírez have established themselves as the frontrunners for the award this season (though I might have just sparked a fun debate!). Rather, that piece of trivia illustrates the excellent all-around talent of Hicks and why he might be the team’s biggest offensive X-factor down the stretch. Because of his unique combination of skills, arguably more than any other player,...