Final yr, Erick Fedde returned to the majors after a one-year sojourn to Korea. He signed a two-year, $15 million cope with the White Sox after a rousing KBO efficiency. Then he began the season in Chicago sturdy, on the identical time the workforce round him fell aside. By the point he obtained traded to St. Louis on the deadline, his place within the nationwide eye was fading. When the Cardinals missed the playoffs, Fedde did too, and he performed a bit worse down the stretch.
Why write about him, then? Two causes. First, a spate of accidents implies that loads of playoff contenders are looking round for pitching. With the Cardinals already having introduced their intent to retool for the long run, Fedde is unquestionably being mentioned in entrance places of work throughout the game. Second, I used to be very in on the right-hander final yr, and his first-half efficiency solely cemented my view. However his full-year numbers weren’t fairly pretty much as good. Variance? Affirmation bias? I can’t be certain till I look. In different phrases, for those who’re a fan of a workforce with playoff aspirations and pitching issues, you ought to be curious. And since I share that curiosity, let’s discover out collectively.
If I needed to describe Fedde in his first main league stint, I’d deal with how he succeeded with out standout stuff. To be trustworthy, although, “succeed” overstates it; over 450 innings with the Nationals, he compiled a 5.41 ERA. You may in all probability image somebody in your favourite workforce like Fedde even for those who don’t keep in mind his tenure in Washington: a kitchen-sink fifth starter getting by on guile somewhat than blowing hitters away, and even then not all the time succeeding.
As an NC Dino, Fedde was a a lot completely different pitcher. How completely different? He struck out practically a 3rd of the batters he confronted and received MVP honors. He regarded like Korea’s Jacob deGrom, in different phrases, and I used to be curious what sort of adjustments he’d made to his arsenal to attain these outcomes.
Now for the bizarre half. Check out the PitchingBot and Stuff+ grades for every of his pitches, first in the course of the second half of his Nats profession after which in 2024:
Erick Fedde’s Stuff Grades, Then and Now
| Pitch | 4-Seamer | Sinker | Cutter | Change | Curve | Slider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-22 BotStuff | 33 | 42 | 45 | 54 | 52 | – |
| 2024 BotStuff | 20 | 36 | 42 | 37 | – | 50 |
| 2020-22 Stuff+ | 70 | 80 | 96 | 85 | 109 | – |
| 2024 Stuff+ | 76 | 80 | 89 | 80 | – | 108 |
Curious! Fedde didn’t appear to alter a lot in any respect, even for those who drill down additional than a one-number stuff grade. He nonetheless sits round 93 mph along with his sinker, and nonetheless tops out within the mid-90s. His cutter seems to be equivalent. He throws his changeup barely tougher, nevertheless it nonetheless will get comparable motion. He switched a curveball for a slider, however that’s about the one change, and each fashions suppose the brand new pitch is about pretty much as good because the outdated one in a vacuum. His swinging strike fee, whereas larger than his profession mark, was nonetheless solely 8.7%. The league common hovers round 11%. In different phrases, he’s nonetheless not blowing anybody away.
That tracks virtually precisely with what Fedde displayed final yr, each with the White Sox and the Cardinals. He struck out 21% or so of batters at each stops, pure back-of-rotation numbers. However strikeouts is barely a part of the equation, even in our stuff-obsessed occasions. And the remainder of Fedde’s recreation has modified meaningfully.
Need it in a single quantity? PitchingBot and Stuff+ each assign general command grades that measure a pitcher’s capacity to find. I received’t go into the specifics of how every work – at the very least partially as a result of the specifics are too difficult to suit into an article, and partially as a result of I’m a author, not a mathematician. However right here’s the upshot: From 2020-2022, PitchingBot gave Fedde a 54 command rating (50 is common), whereas Stuff+ gave him a 106 location rating (100 is common). In 2024, these marks climbed to 57 and 111, respectively.
In different phrases, Fedde obtained the ball to good areas for a given depend extra ceaselessly, and that made all of the distinction. His precision manifested itself partially in avoiding walks. Nats-era Fedde walked virtually 10% of the batters he confronted. Final yr, that dropped meaningfully to 7.2%. And stroll charges are simply the beginning of it. Command isn’t simply avoiding balls in three-ball counts. It’s additionally inserting pitches successfully to maintain hitters from teeing off.
On that entrance, Fedde additionally excelled final yr. He hit spots simply barely off the plate 19.5% of the time when forward within the depend – that quantity stood at 13% when he was a Nationwide. He hit the perimeters of the zone extra persistently when he was behind within the depend. He slashed his fee of meatballs thrown when forward within the depend by 1 / 4. You title a depend/location pair you’d contemplate useful, and Fedde obtained higher at it. He used to do a reasonably good job of transferring his fastball and breaking ball round; now he’s downright wonderful.
The important thing adjustment? These aforementioned meatballs. League-wide, pitchers throw about 20% of their pitches over the guts of the plate once they’re forward within the depend. Fedde has all the time been higher than common at that talent, however in 2024, he was even higher. He left pitches over the center simply 10.7% of the time in that state of affairs. When he obtained forward of a hitter, he virtually by no means bailed them out with a crushable pitch.
You need that by way of math? Earlier than 2024, Fedde wasn’t excellent at managing contact when he was forward within the depend. He allowed a .493 slugging proportion (.529 xSLG) and .337 wOBA on contact (.373 xWOBACON). Neither of these marks are good, particularly for a pitcher who doesn’t strike many hitters out. However in 2024, he grew to become a contact suppression genius. Hitters managed a paltry .330 slugging proportion (.361 xSLG) once they put the ball in play whereas behind within the depend, and a .252 wOBACON (.263 xwOBACON). These are super numbers, each by way of outcomes and Statcast-expected outcomes.
Consider it this fashion: In the event you’re a hitter going through Fedde, you’re going to wish to swing. He doesn’t miss bats, however he has good command. If you’re behind within the depend, swinging in all probability sounds even higher. What, is he going to blow one by you? Unlikely, however for those who preserve the bat in your shoulders, he would possibly choose off a nook. So batters assault, and Fedde throws them pitches in robust areas. Even higher for Fedde, he obtained forward within the depend at a career-high fee, and at a fee comfortably larger than league common. In different phrases, he found out the way to pitch whereas forward, and in addition found out the way to get forward greater than ever.
This isn’t the way you’d draw up a pitcher from scratch. Making a residing off of letting your opponents put the ball in play comes with downsides. Fedde is liable to the occasional blowup recreation. He’s going to surrender his justifiable share of residence runs. However there aren’t higher alternate options. At 32, it’s not like he’s going to develop monstrous stuff out of nowhere. He’s absolutely fashioned at this level on that entrance, so strategy and placement are his finest instruments to face out.
Make no mistake, this isn’t a batted ball luck mirage, at the very least not completely. Positive, Fedde’s 3.30 ERA might be an overstatement of his expertise. However what about his 3.86 FIP, or his 3.91 xERA? His 4.12 xFIP and 4.19 SIERA aren’t even that unhealthy, they usually’re the worst of the ERA estimators. Is he an ace? Clearly not. However a 3rd starter? Definitely, based mostly on how properly he pitched in 2024.
The actual query is whether or not he can do it once more. Command-based breakouts by no means appear as stable as overpowering, stuff-driven enchancment. Nobody watched Cole Ragans shave two runs off of his ERA in 2023 and stated, “Nah, don’t consider it.” All you needed to do was watch him throw one fastball and one slider. However with Fedde, the enhancements don’t bounce off the display screen the identical manner, they usually really feel much less everlasting. It doesn’t assist that he had a for much longer monitor report of mediocrity than Ragans, and that he didn’t determine it out till age 30. ZiPS and Steamer each take a look at his monitor report unfavorably; they every undertaking him for an ERA and FIP round 4.25.
I fully perceive why the fashions are skeptical. Did you hear the half the place I described his prolonged pre-KBO profession? Did you hear the half the place he has subpar stuff and doesn’t strike anybody out or miss bats? Can a pc mannequin moderately take a look at a 32-year-old with a profession 4.82 ERA and purchase in? Most likely not.
However I’m not a pc. And I’m keen to consider in late-career or oddly timed breakouts so long as I can promote myself on a story. This one is straightforward for me to pitch. Fedde went to Changwon to play for the Dinos and got here again modified. Perhaps going through KBO competitors emboldened him to alter some issues about his pitching. Perhaps he simply obtained higher at commanding the ball the place he wished to. Perhaps his new slider – his finest pitch by outcomes regardless of the mediocre mannequin grades – made all of the distinction on this planet. I’m not right here to inform you which of those claims to consider. I’m simply right here to inform you that one thing altering for the higher is eminently plausible.
So ought to your workforce commerce for Fedde? Let me put it this fashion: I’d need my workforce to go get him. He’s on a discount basement contract. He’s coming off a season when he completed twenty fourth within the majors in pitching WAR, and that’s utilizing FIP – he was eleventh in RA9-WAR. He might be lots worse than that and nonetheless be miles higher than your present fifth starter.
The price? I do not know. There’s certain to be smoke round Cardinals pitchers, however till a commerce occurs, we’re all at the hours of darkness. However I believe that Fedde is nice sufficient to assist a contender this yr, and with the seemingly annual spike in pitching accidents throughout spring coaching, loads of contenders have a necessity for precisely what he’s seemingly to supply: stable, reliable innings in good amount at an affordable worth.