Erick Fedde returned stateside in 2024 and had a career-best main league season. One yr after going 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA for the KBO’s NC Dinos, the 32-year-old right-hander logged a 3.30 ERA and a 3.86 FIP over 31 begins between the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. His earlier large league campaigns had been comparatively rocky. From 2017-2022, Fedde usual a 5.41 ERA and a 5.17 FIP with the Washington Nationals.
Fedde, whom St. Louis acquired finally summer season’s commerce deadline as a part of an eight-player, three-team swap, entered skilled baseball with excessive expectations. He was drafted 18th total in 2014 regardless of having undergone Tommy John surgical procedure throughout his junior season on the College of Nevada Las Vegas. When our 2017 Washington Nationals High Prospects checklist was printed in March of that yr, Fedde was ranked third within the system, behind Victor Robles and Juan Soto.
What did Fedde’s 2017 scouting report seem like? Furthermore, what does he consider all of it these years later? Wanting to search out out, I shared a few of what our lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen wrote, and requested Fedde to reply to it.
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“As a junior at UNLV, Fedde was a possible top-10 choose till he blew out in Might.”
“Fairly correct,” Fedde stated. “Going into my junior yr, I used to be projected to go on the finish of the primary spherical, and simply sort of stored climbing because the yr went. Sadly, I used to be damage simply earlier than the draft. I believe I had TJ two days prior. However it all labored out. I used to be nonetheless in a position to go within the first spherical, which was actually cool.
“Jeff Hoffman, who was drafted [ninth overall] by the Blue Jays, was sort of the massive right-hander forward of me. He blew out earlier within the yr. I believe he was sort of up there with me and Aaron Nola at one level. We had been taking a look at probably prime 10, though I don’t know if there was a selected group.”
“Fedde’s fastball principally sits 90-94 and can contact 96 with a little bit of sink and run.”
“I’d say that’s fairly spot on,” Fedde replied. “I didn’t actually begin throwing arduous till that sophomore-to-junior summer season; that’s after I began getting up there. I used to be a constant 92-93, however the large factor I bear in mind was that I might maintain velocity, if not acquire it, as the sport went on. That’s one thing I believe scouts loved.”
“Fedde’s out pitch is a slider, principally 81-84 mph, that flashes plus however can get slurvy and lose chunk when he doesn’t get on prime of it.”
“Yeah, 100%,” he acknowledged. “I believe I used to be throwing a sweeper earlier than I knew what a sweeper was. A few years in the past that turned the overall rave — it turned the belle of the ball within the sense of pitching — and it’s sort of what I threw. At the moment we’d name it slurvy, however in in the present day’s world it’s a sweeper.”
“His arm slot can get slingy and low, making it arduous for him to drive the ball down.”
“I imply, at that time my life all I did was throw the ball down within the zone,” Fedde countered. “Not less than mentally, that’s what I used to be making an attempt to do.”
“Not all scouts are enamored of Fedde’s supply. His decrease half is frail, typically unbalanced, and at occasions performs no function in his supply in any respect.”
“I used to be a skinny man,” recalled Fedde, who now stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 kilos. “I believe I left for the draft at like 175 kilos. So, I suppose I most likely relied on whip and quickness as an alternative of power. I don’t know. Possibly that got here into the thought of my having an absence of leg use.”
“If Fedde can enhance his at present fringy, mid-80s changeup, he’ll have a viable three-pitch combine and above-average command of it.”
“Yeah, I really feel like I’ve all the time been fairly good with command,” he stated. “It’s one thing that I’ve leaned on all through my profession. The changeup actually stunk all the best way up till a few years in the past. In order that’s very true. I lastly really feel like I’ve a good changeup. After which, as I acquired into professional baseball, I discovered a cutter so as to add to my combine. Now it’s a four-pitch combine.”
“He initiatives as a sinker/slider mid-rotation arm.”
“I believe it’s been sort of east-to-west that approach,” Fedde stated. “I’ve been in the course of rotations. I undoubtedly would by no means say that I’ve been a primary. However yeah, simply continue to grow and hopefully push to the highest finish of rotations. Final season was my greatest thus far, for positive. I had a number of struggles early, a number of studying. However like [the scouting report] stated, if I can get a great changeup… I imply, I believe the changeup actually modified my profession.”
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Earlier “Outdated Scouting Reviews Revisited” interviews may be discovered by way of these hyperlinks: Cody Bellinger, Matthew Boyd, Dylan Stop, Matt Chapman, Ian Happ, Jeff Hoffman, Matthew Liberatore.
