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What’s going on with Hicks nowadays?
Has he fully recovered from the injury that sidelined him last year?
Is he fully recovered from Tommy John surgery?
Will he become the closer next year since it’s obvious Reyes will not be in that position?
Anybody know anything, got any updates on Hicks?
r/Esteemed Rat
The only news regarding Hicks that I know of is that he wants to be a starter.
If Hicks does well in the rotation, he could become trade bait.
He needs innings to develop. but he is not ready to step into the rotation. There seems to be trepidation with the idea of continuing to use him in the same fashion that compromised his development and health.
He is an inigma; therefore management cannot express a clear plan of use since one cannot possibly exist.Well, now that we have our five starters – Wainwright, Fletcher, Hudson, Mikolas, and Matz – why do we need Hicks to be a starter?
And I agree Nigel T, at this point I don’t see a sure fire plan for him.
Has he ever been a starter before?
Will he be used in middle relief?
Will he have an innings limit?
Drafted in the third round out of H.S., Hicks was a starter up through A ball. Yadi seem to influence the coaching staff to take Hicks north out of spring training though he hadn’t reached AA yet.
He has other medical issues. but seems to really be a horse. I have heard Hicks rivals Tyler O’Neil in the weight room.
He seems to have lost much of his command, and it may be best to let him develop in the minors. I would say that won’t happen without further injury.If he performs as one of the 13 best pitchers this spring, he will likely head north in the same role we saw last year.
Because Hicks was pushed too hard too soon, he will probably need to be used sparingly in the next season or two. That means a one-inning, middle relief guy. He needs to get through a season before being unleashed as a starter.
Long term I like him in a starter’s role.
You didn’t see today’s game I am guessing. Multiple 100+ mph pitches. 2Ks in one inning, but a walk, too.
Hicks lacks control and throws a lot of pitches. I’m not convinced he has a reliable secondary pitch that can work off that fastball. Without that 100 MPH doesn’t mean much. How could he be a starter?
I agree with sjeff. I don’t think Hicks has the kind of pitches that will allow him to excel in a starting role. Similar to Trevor Rosenthal, I think the Cards identified that early enough that he was put where he’d thrive (in the bullpen) early on and probably will never change that role. Hopefully he has a healthy 2022 and we can see flashes of the Hicks who was looking pretty good early in 2019.
We shouldn’t forget that Hicks is hitting 100 MPH while throwing a sinking fastball. Also, I’ve always thought he had a really nice curveball, but never got the chance to work on it or develop it in the minors or carried it over into the majors as a high-leverage reliever.
In some ways he is turning into Alex Reyes 2.0. Throws hard but is often wild and often hurt. Unfortunately he just isn’t someone we can depend on.
I’m guessing we would all be happy if he can be #2 behind Gallegos on the BP list for the year, the SP dream wasn’t realistic. Hope they get Trevino in the deal for Manaea to close or be the 8th inning guy…. 🙂 hah
Makes me nervous hearing Hicks is throwing 100+ on a lot of pitches. It’s fine to dial it up a time or two just to make sure you can do it without pain. But don’t get to where you throw most every pitch that way in Speing games. That is a good way to get back to the IL.
Could it be that dialing back up 90’s fastball Pitchers is like telling a running QB to stay in the pocket. I think that is why Carlos has been a mess the last 3 years. His ball started moving too much when he dialed it back. Just a thought. If you take their Pitch away from them they become merely average.
VerHagen and Woodford are in the bullpen, available as swing men, long relievers, and whatever else in between.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) April 6, 2022
What does it say about polarizing groupthink in general when an ingroup of people dedicate their time to being knowledgeable on a topic, yet only one person was able to even express this possibility that we were all officially told about months ago?
I never considered it when thinking about roster configuration.This move is a head scratcher for sure.
1) Can Hicks throw enough strikes tobe a starter? I can see some potential disasters in the making if him not getting thru 2 innings. That would be a big strain on your bullpen.
2) Why was he not stretched out further in ST?
3) it could diminish your bullpen, as Hicks has closing experience, and would make a very good set up man.
This move is a strange one. I hope it works out, as you always want your power arm prospects to prosper as starters first.
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