Tag: Alex Faedo

Former Florida RHP Alex Faedo called up to Detroit

Alex Faedo was one of the very best pitchers to every wear the Orange and Blue, and now he’s getting his turn in the MLB.

Florida baseball fans have been waiting to see former Gator right-hander Alex Faedo get his shot in the big leagues, and the next chapter of his story began on Sunday.

Faedo started 12 games last year for the Detroit Tigers after being called up, but his season ended early after a hip injury required surgery and rehab that lasted the rest of the year. His 5.53 ERA, 44 strikeouts and 25 walks through 53 2/3 innings weren’t eye-popping numbers, but they set a good baseline for the future.

After healing up and working with the Tigers again in spring training, Faedo started the 2023 seasons off in Toledo with Triple-A affiliate Mudhens. He made five starts, logging a 2.50 ERA, four walks and 19 strikeouts over 18 innings.

Those numbers are good, but Faedo’s been dominating the minor leagues for some time. The question is whether he can succeed as a backend starter for an MLB club.

Detroit called Faedo back up on Sunday to pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals. He surrendered three runs (two earned) on three hit and no walks while striking out one through 4 2/3 innings.

He didn’t earn a decision, but Faedo put the Tigers in a position to win without giving up a free base, which is a good sign. A pair of home runs and a ton of hard-hit balls aren’t great, but it’s still a decent outcome for a player coming off an injury and on a pitch count.

Detroit sent down left-hander Spencer Turnbull in a corresponding move with Faedo’s callup, so the Tigers should give him a few starts before deciding on how he fits in the rotation.

Faedo was the 2017 College World Series Most Outstanding and one of the best pitchers in UF baseball history. He finished his career with a program-high .824 win percentage (28-6) and posted a 2.26 ERA his junior year.

The Tigers drafted him with the No. 18 overall picking the 2017 MLB draft.

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Former Gator Alex Faedo to make MLB debut with Detroit on Wednesday

The former Gator gets his first taste of Major League Baseball on Wednesday in the second leg of a doubleheader.

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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Former Gator Alex Faedo scheduled for Tommy John Surgery

The one-time Florida star has had a rough road to the MLB with the Detroit Tigers, and a recent elbow injury is another major setback.

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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