St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Hicks set a record for the fastest strike thrown in the Statcast era, hitting 105 mph on the radar gun in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold shared word of the pitch but noted the New York Yankees' Aroldis Chapman owns the overall velocity record after the closer threw a 105.1 mph fastball for a ball against the Baltimore Orioles in 2016. Statcast was introduced in all 30 MLB stadiums in 2015.
MLB showed Hicks unleashing a pair of 100-plus mph fastballs on Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera:
MLB @MLB1⃣0⃣4⃣ mph. 1⃣0⃣5⃣mph. @Jhicks007’s throwing GAS. https://t.co/qPsTJqRh1Q
Hicks eventually struck Herrera out with a 103.7 mph sinker before walking Carlos Santana and inducing a groundout from Jorge Alfaro to end the game.
Hicks' velocity can make him unhittable at times, but the Cardinals may want to see him display some more control first, considering he averaged 6.1 walks per nine innings entering Sunday, according to Baseball Reference.
If Hicks can cut down on his walks, then he clearly has the potential to be an elite option late in games.
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