May 3, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jordan Hicks (center) is congratulated by teammates during the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

San Francisco Giants Are Finally Ending Failing Pitching Experiment

Originally posted on San Francisco Giants on SI
By Dalton Rice | Last updated May 18, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Jordan Hicks was declared himself as a starting pitcher before signing a four-year, $44 million deal with the Giants in 2024, but after a seeing an ERA just under 5.00 in his time as a starter, he is moving back to the bullpen.

Hicks started the season with six scoreless innings against the Astros, but has only had one outing (April 27 vs. the Rangers) with less than three earned runs since. Hicks' 6.55 ERA is the worst of any qualified starter this season.

The right-hander was a dominant high-leverage bullpen piece when healthy for the Cardinals and Blue Jays, posting jaw-dropping velocity numbers during his time with St. Louis, holding a tie with Aroldis Chapman for the fastest pitch ever thrown in a MLB game at 105.1 mph.

Jordan Hicks goes 105, 104, 105 and 104 mph.

And, Odubel gets the well-deserved participation trophy, getting 1b on the dropped 3rd. pic.twitter.com/IMQrTyDuHy
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 20, 2018

Hicks' average fastball velocity of 97.2 mph is in the 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers according to Baseball Savant, but his whiff percentage (46th) and walk rate (58th) are sitting in the wrong spot on the percentile leaderboards.

The 2015 third-round pick's strikeout-per-nine rate once sat over double-digits but has steadily declined since being traded from the Cardinals at the 2023 trade deadline and opposing hitters are simply seeing the ball out of his hand better as a starter.

Hayden Birdsong will start Tuesday. Jordan Hicks is moving to bullpen. Bob Melvin said Hicks was “great about it.” Melvin: “He said I want to do what I can to help the team win.”
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 17, 2025

Hayden Birdsong (1-0, 2.31 ERA) will step into Hicks' rotation spot and take the mound on Tuesday after impressing in 23.1 innings out of the Giants' bullpen. It has not been announced when Hicks will make his first bullpen appearance for San Francisco.

This article first appeared on San Francisco Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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