Noah Syndergaard has hair like Thor, a body like the Hulk and an arm like Nolan Ryan, and yet, a virtually unknown rookie upstaged him on Thursday.

As the Mets knocked around the Cardinals 9-4, Cardinals reliver Jordan Hicks turned Noah Syndergaard into a distant second when it comes to hard-throwing pitchers on the mound: Hicks made his debut after skipping over Double A and Triple A entirely based on a strong spring training (and his incredible pitch velocity).

Average FB Velocity (3/29/18) Pitcher Average FB Velocity Jordan Hicks 100.4 MPH Noah Syndergaard 97.6 MPH Jeurys Familia 97.3 MPH Mike Mayers 95.7 MPH Anthony Swarzak 95.0 MPH Robert Gsellman 94.7 MPH Carlos Martinez 94.5 MPH Sam Tuivailala 91.6 MPH Brett Cecil 87.3 MPH Matt Bowman 86.9 MPH

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Normally, single game performances aren’t indicative of much, but pitch velocity is something that is consistent from game to game, so we can partially evaluate pitchers over small samples by it; Hicks receives top marks, averaging 100.4 MPH on his fastball in his first-ever MLB outing.

Hicks’ velocity-filled debut was the fastest in the past two seasons: since 2015, only one pitcher has posted a better average fastball velocity in his debut than Hicks. Mauricio Cabrera averaged 101.5 MPH in his debut against the Indians on June 27, 2016.

Fastest Average FB Velo in MLB Debut Since 2015 (Statcast/Pitchfx, Min 1 IP) Pitcher Average FB Velocity in Debut Mauricio Cabrera 101.5 MPH Jordan Hicks 100.4 MPH Alex Reyes 99.8 MPH Ryne Stanek 99.3 MPH Thyago Vieria 99.2 MPH Ariel Hernandez 99.0 MPH Walker Buehler 98.9 MPH

Velocity means little if you can’t control it (as Cabrera could attest to, having been stuck in the minor leagues while posting a 9.4 BB/9 in 2017), but it’s an excellent tool to build off: Exhibit A, Aroldis Chapman.

That said, Hicks has displayed adequate if not superb control while in the low minors (4.0 BB/9), and that, coupled with his plus-plus velocity and high ground-ball rates in the minors (57.1 percent) means that Hicks might have the tools to succeed and thrive in the majors despite making the jump from A+.

He’s an intriguing reliever prospect, and flamethrowers like Chapman and Syndergaard might need to watch their backs: there could be another top-tier pure-velocity pitcher to challenge their hard-thrower thrones.