When it comes to filling out their starting rotation, could the Braves have a friend in Fedde?
We’ve arrived at the stage of toddlerhood where we get hyper fixated on certain things.
Over the past two months, we are nearing Bobby Cox’s ejection record for number of views of the various Toy Story movies. We watch it one time all the way through all 4 movies …
Did you know they’re making a 5th movie? I am … not sure what the plot will be given how the fourth one ended, but I guess Woody found Bo Peep in the middle of nowhere. So I guess anything is possible.
Mark, the point.
… Every weekend. During the week, we probably also make it through an entire set of the movies, but with less time, it does take longer.
He has Woody and Buzz movie-size toys. He has basically the whole gang in a more toddler-friendly size. He has pajamas with basically all the characters. And during his gymnastics class the other night …
Yes, gymnastics for toddlers. It is, indeed, as chaotic as it sounds.
… “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” came on, and he instantly stopped and said, “I hear it!” The boy is obsessed, but I suppose there are worse things.
One of the funnier offshoots of this, of course, is that he says a bunch of the things in the movies, and because he’s two, it all gets garbled. He doesn’t “fly”. He yells at me, I pick him up and lay him out flat in my arms, and then he screams, “Infinity and beyond!” as I run around the house making airplane noises. But because it’s garbled, it sounds like he’s screaming, “Erick Fedde and beyond!”
Ah, the title makes sense now.
Erick Fedde has had an interesting career. Drafted 18th overall in 2014 by the Washington Nationals, Fedde made his debut 3 years later. He had a rather roller coaster ride through the next three seasons before seemingly taking a step forward 2021 with 5.47 ERA that undersold a 8.64 K/9, 3.24 BB/9, and a nearly 50% GB rate that left him with a 4.06 xFIP.
All of that cratered during the next season, and he went off to Korea in search of finding success on the mount. And he did just that. Adding a changeup and pitching more up in the zone, Fedde dominated Korea enough to earn a 2-year, $15 million contract from the Chicago White Sox.
The changeup stayed part of his arsenal, as he upped it to nearly 20% with the White Sox after using it less than 10% of the time in his other seasons with the Nationals. And it seemed to help. Fedde reeled off 121 innings of 3.11 ERA ball, and while it was backed up by a 4.01 xFIP, Fedde had seemingly righted the ship in order to become a 2.5 win pitcher over those 120 innings. That put him squarely in no. 3 starter territory.
Then came the Cardinals. Sent to St. Louis in a 3-team trade for basically a box of chocolates, Fedde ditched the changeup, and his ERA and advanced metrics went with it. That’s generally a trend with the Cardinals these days after being one of the better organizations in the earlier parts of the 2000s.
With the Cardinals heading nowhere and starting pitching always in demand, Fedde is on the block, and with the Atlanta Braves in need of a … more predictable starting pitcher, Fedde might be an answer.
The contract was evenly split between the years, so he makes just $7.5 million in 2025. That’s definitely manageable for Atlanta, and it keeps them under the tax.
The Cardinals also messed with his pitch mix, and given the success he found in Korea and the early success with the White Sox using his changeup more, this seems like a pretty easy switch to make. You can see below and to the right that he drastically reduced his changeup in favor of adding more sinkers and cutters (all the way to the left). Given that he doesn’t really throw that hard and hasn’t been known for fastballs, that was a … curious decision.
His Stuff+ numbers also didn’t dramatically change in his switch to St. Louis, but his location was worse along with walking more batters. Again, the Cardinals messing with what was working is a bit curious.
And I also can’t imagine that he’d cost a lot. His numbers weren’t great in St. Louis. He didn’t cost a lot to acquire in the first place (though I suppose that doesn’t necessarily mean anything). And it would be an easy and quick way for St. Louis to save some money.
So if he’s available and if it doesn’t cost much prospect capital to acquire, Fedde seems like an astronomically good idea. Just make him start throwing his changeup again, and we can really shoot for the stars.