The big day has finally arrived for former Gator [autotag]Alex Faedo[/autotag], one of the cornerstones of the formidable pitching staff on the 2017 national championship team that now features several players in the major leagues. On Wednesday, he will toe the rubber and make the start for the Detroit Tigers in the second game of a straight doubleheader at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, marking his first time in the big show.
Faedo’s history with the Motor City Kitties actually starts before he won his ring when Detroit selected him with the final pick of the 2014 MLB draft — back when it was 40 rounds long. Obviously, he attended Florida instead and the rest is history, getting picked again in the draft by the Tigers, but the second time in 2017 as a first-round selection with the 18th overall pick.
The right-hander bounced around a bit in the minors for a few years, dealing with fitness issues as well as struggling to align his mechanics. Faedo lost the 2020 season to COVID when he caught the virus and in December of that year ended up having Tommy John surgery which shut him down in 2021. He made his 2022 season debut with Single-A Lakeland on April 9 and helped his team earn a 5-1 win over Tampa, allowing one hit, no walks and striking out two over 28 pitches in his first competitive outing in 951 days.
Since returning from reconstructive surgery, Faedo has appeared in four games — three in Lakeland and one with Triple-A Toledo, with two of them starts — putting up a 1.72 ERA and an 0.83 WHIP over 15 2/3 innings pitched. The Tigers are dealing with attrition at the pitching position and the 26-year-old’s stint with the big league team is expected to be a brief fill-in role, with him returning to Toledo after the game.
The first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. EDT with Faedo’s start coming immediately afterward. Both games can be watched on ATT SportsNet-PIT and Bally Sports Detroit.
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