Former Reliever Dominating In New Role With San Francisco Giants

Jordan Hicks is dominating in his first season as a starting pitcher with the San Francisco Giants.

Apr 5, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jordan Hicks / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

It's not uncommon for starting pitchers to become relievers in MLB, but it's much rarer for relievers to become starters. That's because starters have a much more difficult job, needing to navigate a lineup multiple times and throw upwards of 100 pitches.

Unless you're Jordan Hicks, in which case starting looks like the easiest thing in the world.

After primarily working as a reliever during the first five years of his career, Hicks has transitioned to starting with the San Francisco Giants this season. It's been a great decision for the Giants so far, as Hicks has pitched like an ace in his first year with the team.

He was in top form again on Wednesday, firing six innings of one-run ball in a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals. He yielded just one run on a solo homer and threw 51 of his 79 pitches for strikes.

The 27-year-old righty is now 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA over his first three starts of the season, allowing only two earned runs in 18 innings with a 13:3 K/BB ratio. Not surprisingly, San Francisco has won all three of his starts.

Giants manager Bob Melvin credits Hicks' success to his determination and bulldog mentality. That was apparent in Wednesday's outing, as Hicks refused to leave the game when the medical staff came out to check on him in the fourth inning.

Bob Melvin continues to be impressed with Jordan Hicks and his mindset as a starter 👏 pic.twitter.com/cbn1ypiiHA

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 10, 2024

It's hard to imagine where San Francisco would be without Hicks, as he's accounted for three of the team's five wins thus far. He's never thrown more than 80 innings in a season before, so time will tell if his arm can hold up for the entire year.

Still, having him in their starting rotation is a good sign as others try to find their footing this season.

If that happens, the Giants should still be competitive in the National League this year despite their slow start.