Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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CardsofSTL
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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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St. Louis Cardinals
Much has been made of the fastball velocity of rookie Jordan Hicks, who has (perhaps temporarily) taken the fastball crown from Aroldis Chapman, but he has been effective as well. He has faced 20 batters, only two of which have hits, and he hasn't given up an earned run. Despite the velocity, oddly, he has only struck out three batters.
From the MLB article 30 Weird Stats...

https://www.mlb.com/news/30-weird-stats ... -271403796

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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Hicks gets a profile at The Ringer today.

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/4/17 ... is-chapman

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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heyzeus wrote:Hicks gets a profile at The Ringer today.

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/4/17 ... is-chapman
At an average of 99.1 miles per hour, not only is it the hardest pitch in the majors this year, but it also has more than 9 inches of arm-side break.
That's insane

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

Post by Fat Strat »

pioneer98 wrote:
heyzeus wrote:Hicks gets a profile at The Ringer today.

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/4/17 ... is-chapman
At an average of 99.1 miles per hour, not only is it the hardest pitch in the majors this year, but it also has more than 9 inches of arm-side break.
That's insane
Crazy.

I'm kind of wondering now why he wasn't more highly thought of as a prospect. Results weren't incredible, but the velocity plus movement plus age puts him in a rare class.

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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Fat Strat wrote:
pioneer98 wrote:
heyzeus wrote:Hicks gets a profile at The Ringer today.

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/4/17 ... is-chapman
At an average of 99.1 miles per hour, not only is it the hardest pitch in the majors this year, but it also has more than 9 inches of arm-side break.
That's insane
Crazy.

I'm kind of wondering now why he wasn't more highly thought of as a prospect. Results weren't incredible, but the velocity plus movement plus age puts him in a rare class.
Unspectacular K% mixed with a high walk rate. Really hasn't changed in the majors either. Results have been great so far but he has 8 walks and 6 Ks in 11 innings, a 4.69 FIP. This isn't sustainable.

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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Yeah, with lesser velocity everyone would be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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Magneto2.0 wrote: Unspectacular K% mixed with a high walk rate. Really hasn't changed in the majors either. Results have been great so far but he has 8 walks and 6 Ks in 11 innings, a 4.69 FIP. This isn't sustainable.
Age though is such a huge part of the evaluation process. I am not suggesting he should have been viewed like Reyes, but a 19-20 year old throwing in the high 90s as a starter with a projectable frame and improving secondary pitches is something to take note of.

Maybe this write up explains it - https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-23- ... cardinals/

If he was sitting around 94 in his first full season, that’s what most projections are measuring him for. Velocity increased in th AFL or perhaps he pitched down to maintain control as a starter in full season A ball.

Anyway, KATOAH - a prospect projection system - said that Hicks had a 90%+ chance of either not making it to the majors or being replacement level there. That seems pretty silly to me from an eyes perspective. He is here to stay. Even if his results are mixed over a handful of innings so far.

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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Excellent question. This is sort of the next evolution of his game, and it's something that the he and the Cardinals talked about before the start of spring training, and certainly before that. Hicks has a power sinker that goes 99-102 and has movement. It's going to get weak contact -- and some swings and misses. But lots of weak contact as hitters gear up to hit heat -- and then it moves. That's to be expected with his pitch. What the Cardinals and Hicks want to see him do is start elevating and finding those strikeouts up in the zone. Ryan Helsley, for example, has that high spin rate fastball that pops as it arrives and that works well in the upper registers of the strike zone. Hicks may not need the high spin rate because he has such velocity, but it would help get that pitch up just above the strike zone -- really, like the one he threw Votto, honestly. Instead of Hicks doing this in the minors and arriving with that pitch, he's able to get that work in the majors, so it's a bit of a pinch right: He needs to get outs where it counts, and hitters here are going to be able to hit that velocity, but not his movement. The strikeouts will come. He's just going to learn how to get them on the job.
by Derrick Goold 12:00 PM

Hi Derrick, a lot has been made about the stuff of Jordan Hicks, but he has struck out only 6 of 47 batters faced (he's gone 13 straight batters without a strikeout), is this a concern with the organization or was this to be expected?
by Brian H 11:56 AM

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Re: Jordan Hicks Is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in Baseball

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The greatest trick JL21 ever pulled is convincing GRB he didn't exist.

https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2018/4/22/ ... hicks-comp

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