It was announced Saturday morning that former Florida Gators star Alex Faedo has damaged his UCL, an injury which will require corrective surgery. The procedure, ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is more commonly known as Tommy John surgery. For Faedo, the timing couldn’t be worse.
In his time with the Gators, the right-handed pitcher made a name for himself with his deceptive delivery and monster slider. In his most memorable performance with the team, Faedo struck out 22 batters over 14.2 innings against Texas Christian University as the Gators marched to the 2017 College World Series. Over the course of his unquestionably successful career at Florida, he became a first-round pick, drafted 18th overall by the Detroit Tigers.
It would be fair to say that Faedo has had a rocky pro career. The delivery that worked to unsettle college opponents is a detriment against more steady pro hitters, as it shortens his extension and reduces the perceived velocity of his fastball. Additionally, his slider regressed and his changeup stagnated under the watch of Tigers coaches.
He was finally able to get back on track in the 2019 season, dominating Double-A hitters and earning a place on the Tigers’ 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. For the uninitiated, that essentially means that the team considers him to be a valuable asset, but one unready for Major League playing time.
Faedo spent the 2020 season pitching at the Tigers’ alternate training site, a provision made available to a select group of minor league players who would have otherwise lost the season altogether to the COVID-19 related shutdown of minor league play. He was expected to make his debut with the Tigers in 2021.
Baseball has increasingly become a young man’s game, meaning that lost developmental time can be a death knell to a fringy player’s career. Of course, a team will not so quickly throw in the towel on a former first rounder. The Tigers have proven to be especially stubborn in that regard. However, as a player who is already 25 years old, to undergo this surgery is a terrible stroke of bad luck.
In order to recover fully from Tommy John surgery, a pitcher often requires a full year to throw at full strength again, and another 6 to 7 months before he has fully recovered his former talent, if ever. By the time Faedo can again reasonably expect to lay claim to an MLB role, he’ll be 26 years old, if not 27. In terms of baseball prospects, that’s ancient!
The timing of this injury is tragic for Faedo and for the Tigers, but the only way forward is headlong through the adversity. He’s scheduled to be operated on later this month, putting his recovery timeline squarely in mid-2022. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery as he works toward achieving his major league dream in Detroit.
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