Erick Fedde, last season’s trade deadline acquisition, is primed to be the ace for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2025.
Fedde, 31, was acquired by the Cardinals in the three-team deal that sent Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cardinals received both Fedde and Tommy Pham. The Cardinals later waived Pham to grant his wish to seek a contending team.
Heading into 2025, Fedde remains the sole recent Cardinals acquisition that projects to have major playing time. If he can build off a strong finish to 2024, he could be in play as the best pitcher in the Cardinals rotation.
Will Erick Fedde Emerge as the Cardinals’ Top Pitcher This Year?
A first-round draft pick in 2014, Fedde first broke into the league with the Washington Nationals. However, he struggled mightily in his six years with the team, posting a 5.41 ERA across 88 starts.
Like many other pitchers, he signed with a team in the KBO in hopes of reviving his career. In his singular season with the NC Dinos of the KBO, Fedde posted a stellar 2.00 ERA and 209 K across 30 starts.
This earned him a two-year, $15 million contract with the Chicago White Sox. He performed exceedingly well, producing a 3.11 ERA and 4.7 bWAR across 21 starts with the White Sox. While he slowed down a tick after the trade, Fedde has certainly renewed his major-league career.
In the final year of his current contract, Fedde will be looking to continue proving his status as a major-league-level pitcher.
Fedde’s Case for Ace Status
Fedde never seemed to find his comfort zone with the Cardinals last season, posting a 3.72 ERA through 10 starts after the trade.
However, his underlying stats throughout the course of the season show promise of future success. His cutter and sweeper played exceptionally well in 2024, with each pitch posting a seven-run value. By that metric, his sweeper was top-ten in the league, and his overall run value placed him in the 88th percentile in the MLB.
While his chase and whiff rates were not remarkable, Fedde excelled at evading hard contact and allowed two runs or less in six of his 10 starts with the Cardinals.
With the departures of Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson in free agency, Fedde and Sonny Gray stand as the clear top two in the Cardinals rotation. Gray struggled with consistency on the mound for much of last season, posting a 3.84 ERA in 28 starts.
The rest of the rotation, barring a trade, will be a combination of Miles Mikolas, Stephen Matz, and Andre Pallante. While Pallante took large strides forward last year, all three pitchers project as bottom-of-the-rotation guys, capable of eating valuable innings.
There are a handful of prospects, including Michael McGreevy and Tink Hence, who the organization might look to slot into the rotation. In addition, the once highly touted starter Matthew Liberatore, who has since moved into a high-leverage role in the bullpen, may find a role as a spot starter in the course of the season.
However, none of these pitchers currently possess Fedde’s composure and effectiveness on the mound.
Fedde, therefore, not only has the capability to post a sub-three ERA but also to become the most dominant and consistent pitcher in the Cardinals rotation.
Main Photo Credits: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The post Will Erick Fedde Emerge as the Cardinals’ Top Pitcher This Year? appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.