Jordan Hicks has been on the Blue Jays for a few weeks and he's already in the record books

Toronto Blue Jays v Cleveland Guardians
Toronto Blue Jays v Cleveland Guardians | Jason Miller/GettyImages

When the Blue Jays completed the trade for Jordan Hicks, arguably the main plus was adding one of the hardest throwing pitchers in all of baseball. Now he's actually go on to prove just this.

The 26-year-old achieved the feat while pitching in relief, during the eighth inning of Saturday's game in Cincinnati. He took just 14 pitches to complete a clean inning, including two which reached 103 miles per hour (mph).

A part of very select company

Hicks is one of just two pitchers in the majors to hit 100 mph on his average fastball speed. His 100.7 mph is only beaten by the Twins' Jhoan Durรกn, who throws 101.7 mph on average.

Now it should be noted records of this nature only date back to 2015, when Statcast started being implemented around the Majors. Regardless, Hick's achievement is a noteworthy and impressive one.

The righty is renowned for his ferocious fastball, as well as an outstanding curveball. As such, it was understandable why fans were intrigued by his addition to an already strong bullpen.

More up than down

Admittedly, Hick's tenure in Toronto didn't get off to the most auspicious of starts. In his first outing versus the Orioles, he allowed three hits and two earned runs in one inning.

Since then however, the 2015 third round draft pick has mostly looked more like the reliever the Blue Jays believed/hoped they were getting. In eight subsequent appearances, he has given up just four hits and two earned runs in seven combined innings.

Now it should be noted this sequence does have to factor in that the two earned runs resulted in Hicks being tagged with a couple of losses. Overall though, there is still a lot to like about him.

More control

In particular, the Houston, Texas native seems to have finally got a handle on his issue with walks. Often criticized for problems with his location, he has a 6.3 percent walk-rate in Toronto, which by extension has contributed towards a 1.125 WHIP.

Prior to his trade, Hicks was producing a walk-rate of 12.7 percent in St. Louis. For his five-year career in the Majors as a whole, he has a 13.0 percent walk-rate.

Now we appreciate the improved walk-rate is only a small sample size over a short period of time, but it still provides some reason for encouragement. Consider that he is adding this to a 30.3 percent strike-rate, which is on course to be the best of his career.

Overall, Hicks appears to be throwing with more confidence in general, which is scary news for the rest of the league. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise if he manages to top the Blue Jays record he sent in Cincinnati, before the season is over.

NB - All statistics up to and including August 20.

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