Jordan Hicks

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Jordan McKinley Hicks

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Jordan Hicks made his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on Opening Day, March 29, 2018. He received some early attention because of the incredible radar gun readings on his fastball: in the season's first week, he owned the eight fastest readings in the majors thus far, topping at 101.6 mph on a two-seam fastball, with the former undisputed champion of the discipline, Aroldis Chapman stood meekly in 9th place. He had never pitched above Class A before making the Cardinals' roster. On April 30th, he briefly lost the title of fastest pitch recorded in 2018 when Tayron Guerrero of the Miami Marlins threw a fastball at 101.9 mph, but he reclaimed the title the very next day with a pitch clocked at 102 mph. He kept pushing up the speed, though, and on May 20th recorded a couple of pitches timed at 105 mph while facing Odubel Herrera of the Philadelphia Phillies; the first was a ball and the second was fouled off. That matched the highest speed ever recorded in a major league game, by Chapman. In 73 games, he went 3-4, 3.59 with 6 saves and 24 holds as the Cards' principal set-up man. He struck out 70 batters in 77 2/3 innings while walking 45, so while his radar gun readings were off the charts, he was still not quite dominating.

Hicks was promoted to the role of closer by the Cardinals in 2019 and did pretty well in the first three months of the season, picking up 14 saves in 15 opportunities to go along with a 2-2 record and an ERA of 3.14 in 29 games. He also struck out 31 against 11 walks in 28 2/3 innings. However, his season ended early as the Cardinals announced on June 24th that he had a torn ligament in his elbow, a situation that forced him to undergo Tommy John surgery. He was slated to return to the mound in 2020 but opted out of the season due to health concerns, in his case the fact that he suffered from Type-1 diabetes, putting him in a high risk category of were to be infected by the COVID-19 virus. As a result, he was not able to return to action as anticipated, but was ready in time for spring training in 2021, and had a good shot of making the team's opening day roster. His return to the mound in a Grapefruit League game on March 14th got some additional coverage as it featured his being locked up in an epic at-bat with Luis Guillorme of the New York Mets that endured for 22 pitches before he walked him. Had the at-bat occurred in the regular season, it would have been the longest recorded since pitch data was tracked systematically starting in 1988. He went 0-0, 5.40 in 10 games for the Cardinals after starting the year with the team that year, but went on the injured list with inflammation in his right elbow on May 1st. He made three rehabilitation appearances in the minors with the Memphis Redbirds late in the season, but did not return to the majors.

He was finally back pitching regularly in the majors in 2022, when he went 3-6, 4.84 in 35 games for the Cardinals, including 8 starts. He also spent ten days in AAA with Memphis in June, logging 5 innings in 4 games. In St. Louis, he pitched 61 1/3 innings and struck out 63 batters and gave up just 46 hits, but also walked 35 opponents. He appeared in the postseason for the first time that year, pitching in both games of St. Louis' loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series. He gave up a walk but no hits and no runs in 1 2/3 innings, with 1 strikeout. In 2023, the Cardinals gave up on the notion of making him a starter, as all 40 of his appearances were in relief. He went 1-6, 3.67 by the end of July with 8 saves, his first since being injured back in 2019. His strikeout rate also shot up, to 59 in 41 2/3 innings. With the Cardinals well out of the postseason picture and him about to turn a free agent, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 30th in return for two minor league pitchers, Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse. He pitched well for Toronto, going 2-3, 2.63 in 25 games with 4 saves and 22 strikeouts in 24 innings. The Jays' brass convinced him not to attempt to strike out every single opposite batter he faced, and the overall results were much improved as a result. He pitched one innings against the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, but although it ended up being scoreless, he did load the bases before striking out Willi Castro to strand all three runners, thus preserving a 3-1 score in favor of Minnesota heading into the top of the 9th. The Jays were unable to score, however, and lost the game on their way to being swept.

A free agent following the 2023 season, Hicks signed a four-year deal with the San Francisco Giants on January 12, 2024. The plan was for the Giants to use him as a starting pitcher, however, as Hicks desired.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Sonja Chen: "Hicks raring to start with Giants: 'What I've always wanted to do'", mlb.com, January 18, 2024. [1]
  • John Denton: "Hicks eyes starting 'down the road,' but set on relief in '23", mlb.com, March 22, 2023. [2]
  • Theo DeRosa: "From 105 mph in relief to one of MLB’s best starters", mlb.com, April 20, 2024. [3]
  • Maria Guardado and Brent Maguire: "Jordan Hicks agrees to 4-year deal with Giants", mlb.com, January 12, 2024. [4]
  • Brent Maguire: "His heater averages 100 mph and he's a free agent reliever to watch", mlb.com, January 10, 2024. [5]
  • Keegan Matheson: "Deal for hard-throwing Hicks puts Blue Jays' bullpen in prime position", mlb.com, July 30, 2023. [6]
  • Jorge L. Ortiz: "At 105 mph, Jordan Hicks is MLB's hardest thrower. What does that mean for his future?", USA Today Sports, July 10, 2018. [7]
  • Anne Rogers: "Cardinals' Hicks opts out of 2020 season", mlb.com, July 13, 2020. [8]

Related Sites[edit]

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