Cardinals: Here’s video of Jordan Hicks throwing 102 mph

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks is throwing 102 mph. We are not even a week into spring training. That will play.

The early buzz surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals this spring has surrounded Nolan Arenado. It is deserved, of course, considering that Arenado is the best third baseman in baseball, both offensively and defensively, and puts the team squarely in the mix to win the National League.

But what about Jordan Hicks? After all, Hicks is returning to the Cardinals after missing time in 2019 and opting out of the 2020 season. He is expected to be a key figure in the bullpen and, with teams increasingly concerned about their bullpen depth, his importance has never been greater. So far, he is living up to the hype — and then some.

In a video posted by Pitching Ninja, Hicks was throwing a 102 mph fastball. Just a reminder: we aren’t even a week into spring training. Pretty good.

Of course, this does not guarantee success for Hicks. He still has to locate his pitches. He needs to show that he can stay healthy. He needs to pitch in games, let alone competitive games once the regular season starts. But the fact that he is throwing this hard so early in camp is the most positive sign yet that his previous injury is behind him and that he is 100 percent healthy.

It is a significant addition for a Cardinals team that desperately needs pitching. Miles Mikolas, a starter, is already being held back from simulated games as a precaution “for now.” The team is already in need of additional pitching depth to begin with. So the emergence of Hicks, an extremely talented reliever, is important.

It also doesn’t hurt that he is throwing 102 mph already.