Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks agreed with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony's assessment on Thursday– he needs to improve on his daily preparation.

After his walk-off single in the 4-3 win over the Red Sox, the 24-year-old outfielder said he needs to prepare better in order to become a stable big leaguer. He entered Thursday's game batting .167 and was benched two games this week by Gardenhire.

On Wednesday, Gardenhire said Hicks needs to study pitchers more and put in extra work on all facets of his game.

"It was something we talked about," Hicks said. "I need to start becoming a better professional and better player. There's things I need to do to prepare for a regular game."

Antony went even further and said Hicks has shown up to the park not knowing who the starting pitcher was. Hicks didn't directly acknowledge that, but he said what pitchers throw and their tendencies in situations were important to understand.

"We don't have video and all that stuff in the minors, so it's definitely stuff you need to take advantage of to make you go to the next level," Hicks said.

Time will tell if Hicks' first career walk-off hit will be a turning point this season.

- MASTER TESFATSION