The St. Louis Cardinals got a big boost in their bullpen with the return of Jordan Hicks during last weekend’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Hicks had been out with a forearm issue since the end of May.
Last night, Hicks was deployed in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves, with the Cardinals desperately needing some innings coverage.
Not only did he provide them with two scoreless frames, but he also eclipsed the century mark with his fastball velocity several times, as he’s done many times during his career.
Cardinals reporter Katie Woo tweeted a chart that showed Hicks’ fastest pitches last night, all of which were over 100 mph.
Jordan Hicks? Still nasty. pic.twitter.com/C8G18MFsvQ
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) July 8, 2022
Throwing Gas
Hicks is a key part of the Cards bullpen and came through when he was needed the most.
Not only that, but he made the Braves hitters very uncomfortable as he blew them away with his fastball.
This guy’s velocity is unreal.
He’s a solid pitcher who can not only give the Cardinals innings when they need some coverage, but he can also eclipse 100 mph and he did plenty of that last night.
Despite arm troubles over the past couple of years, including Tommy John surgery in 2019, Hicks doesn’t appear to have lost a step with his velocity.
He can pound the zone with his fastball and blow hitters away, making for an uncomfortable at-bat for whoever is at the plate.
And he helped bridge the gap for St. Louis last night, giving them two very important scoreless innings after Matthew Liberatore‘s exit.
The Cardinals bullpen has been used a lot lately due to the lack of consistency from their starters, but Hicks did his job last night and helped take a little bit of pressure off of Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Helsley.
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