By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Feature Reporter

Michael Darrell-Hicks came into the Angels organization as an undrafted free agent out of Jacksonville University in 2022, yet from the numbers he’s amassed in his minor league experience you would believe him to have come by as a highly coveted top round pick. His two full seasons in the organization has been the definition of peak performance for a relief prospect as the young star has collected 180 strikeouts over 159.1 IP from 2023 through the current 2024 season. Performances such as this don’t happen by accident, often coming by way of incredible mental discipline and physical fortitude alongside a willingness to observe and overcome personal shortcomings. Michael Darrell-Hicks has become the embodiment of evolution throughout his journey to the big leagues, and with the door just a knock away there is nothing but time keeping him from achieving his Major League destiny.

“I’ve been working on my delivery and making sure it’s as sound as it can be so I can tunnel my off-speed off the fastball, stuff like that really sets hitters up. I've done a pretty good job of getting outs but there's always room for improvement. Knowing where I should miss with my stuff, where I need to be in the zone with it and just being able to repeat that. It's one thing to do it, but it’s another thing to execute it day in and day out.”

Darrell-Hicks currently stands on the cusp of his Major League debut as he prepares for the final jump as a member of the Triple A Salt Lake Bees. His time in AA saw him put up league best numbers as he managed a scorching 1.73 ERA across 41.2 innings of work (46Ks/8BBs), adeptly showcasing an exceptional ability to manage the strike zone on his terms with a strong four pitch mix-up that opens up generous real estate in the zone. His high heat four seam (which runs up to the high 90s) and power slider both front his repertoire, though the sinker sits as a dark horse for the best pitch in the mix. Rounding out the mix is a cutter whose put-out potential truly thrives when set up by the quality sinker.  As Darrell-Hicks himself notes, the biggest key in elevating his game to the Major League level is maintaining a sound and consistent sinker, thusly keeping pitch counts to a minimum while generating a legitimate springboard to execute the rest of his mix off of.

“I've been throwing [the sinker] since I've gotten to pro-ball. The cutter is the newest pitch that I've been using, I started throwing it last year when I was starting. [Focused on] getting the sinker back to where I want it because that's my money maker. It helps get quick outs, helps keep my pitch count down. The slider and the cutter are my put away pitches; I'd say the slider more so, but sometimes I get a lot of whiffs on the cutter too. But that's when I set it up with the sinker”

As good as Darrell-Hicks has been in Double A (and he’s been good), his time in Triple A has already seen incredible advancements in the up and coming Major Leaguer. Shane Loux, the Salt Lakes Bees resident pitching coach, helped re-tool Darrell-Hicks sinker grip not too long after the former Trash Panda donned the Bees insignia. It's fascinating, from an outsider standpoint, to witness Darrell-Hicks manage such striking AA success (at one point having a sixteen inning scoreless streak) with a self-confessed inconsistent and a sometimes difficult to predict sinker. The amount of upside in Darrell-Hicks as he makes these final evolutions in AAA brings promise of an uber-effective, plus-stuff reliever with nails composure who can adeptly bridge the gap between the starting five and Ben Joyce in what may very well soon become a top tier bullpen in the MLB.

“I’m just tweaking certain things like my sinker grip a little bit. I'm moving it back in my hand a little bit, using more of the lace because I was more fingers together straight on the leather, not using the lace. And now I'm using more of the lace and it's giving me more consistent sink and action that I'm looking for. My pitching coach in AAA [Shane Loux] came to me a couple days ago, he asked about my grip and I showed him, he told me I was just pulling on straight leather. He mentioned it probably gave me an inconsistent movement on it. I told him sometimes the movement would be inconsistent so he had me to pulling down on a specific lace and that felt like it gave more consistent break and better command of it.”

With a month left in the Triple A season there stands little else but time between Darrell-Hicks and the Major League roster. There are still the typical slight tweaks and comfortability needed when entering a higher level of competition among older competitors, but with a few more weeks left to grinding and there is serious opportunity for Darrell-Hicks to finish his first full season in Angels red. The near constant fragility of the standard Major League bullpen offers plenty of room for Darrell-Hicks to have his name called for a cup of coffee within the next month, though should he go into the offseason as a Bee it is all but certain there will be a spot waiting for him in Spring Training next year. Should he take all the knowledge he’s amassed through 2024, and put the cherry on top with an offseason of hard work, there is no doubt that 2025 will see Darrell-Hicks shine as a critical full time Major League winner for the Los Angeles Angels.

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