MLBbro Jordan Hicks Makes First Start This Weekend | He’s Healthy, Throws 100 MPH In His Sleep, The Future Is Now

This weekend will be a special and memorable one for St. Louis Cardinals right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks.

He is scheduled to make his first career start as the Cardinals take on the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.

His first start would have been earlier this week, if not for weather conditions – but hey you can only control what you can control.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol is looking forward to having a strong bullpen going into the weekend series against division opponent Milwaukee.

“This just allows us to keep everything on track,” Marmol said in an article from mlb.com. “If you look at it, going into that Milwaukee series, I’d love to have [Wainwright] throw Game 1 there, but having a full, healthy ‘pen going into that four-game set also makes sense.”

“[As for Hicks], he stays on track with what we originally told him, which is important. We’ll let the game play out. He’s [come out of the ‘pen] in the past, and it’s a matter of him doing the work in between that’s more important than anything.”

One bright spot this season: He has a 1-0 record with his lone appearance coming on April 12th against the Kansas City Royals.

He came out of the bullpen throwing two innings, striking out two, walking one, and giving up no hits.

The 25-year-old is ready to prove he belongs in the starting rotation after coming out of the bullpen since he entered the league.

“That’s what I like to do — is pitch,” he said in an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I just don’t want to be out there for one inning.

“I’ll definitely be able to show more of what I’ve got, being out there longer.”

It’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride for Hicks over the last few years.

Hicks first took the stage in 2018, making the jump from Class A to the big leagues. His fastball had the league talking and made him must-see TV.

He touched 105.1 MPH on the radar with his fastball that season – tying Aroldis Chapman for the fastest-recorded pitch in MLB history.

Now that’s impressive right there. It’s one thing to throw hard, but it’s another to have accuracy and Hicks has both in his repertoire.

This brother’s stuff is filthy and he’s got more than the fastball. His sinker is just as dirty and his slider can buckle hitters at the knees.

Just as things were heading in the right direction, Hicks had to get Tommy John surgery in 2019, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.

He opted out of the 2020 season.  After making 10 appearances, Hicks re-injured his elbow last year – forcing him to miss the remainder of the season

This will be a big year for Hicks and we’ll get a chance to see how he can be effective as a starter.