Starter Spotlight: Fedde Wap

9-19-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

In danger of getting swept in the 4-game series and clinching a sixth straight losing season, the Pirates will face-off against Erick Fedde.

A former first round pick by the Washington Nationals in 2014, Fedde, who joined the Cardinals via a mid-season trade from the White Sox, struggled in his first few years in MLB before finding success overseas last year in Korea.

In 2023, Fedde went 20-6 over 30 starts with a 2.00 ERA and 209 strikeouts across 180.1 innings in the KBO, earning the league MVP at season’s end and earning another shot with an MLB contract worth $15M for 2 years with the White Sox.

His first year back in the states has been prosperous, posting a 3.45 ERA across 164.1 innings split between the White Sox and Cardinals with 141 Ks to just 50 walks.

Fedde offers a low-90s sinker, low-90s cutter and a high-80s changeup. Prior to his time playing internationally, Fedde had a high-70s curve but scrapped it and replaced the ineffective offering with a low-80s sweeper, which has become his most effective pitch resulting in a .171 oBA and a .326 oSLG – the lowest among his arsenal.

With a sweeper breaking down glove-side, Fedde typically works sinker/sweeper/cutter against RHH while dropping the sweeper and pivoting to changeup when facing lefties, falling down and in on opposing hitters.

The good news is Fedde has struggled since joining the Cardinals, posting a 4.43 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 42.2 innings with St. Louis. 

The bad news is he continues to excel when pitching for the home team, posting a 1.98 ERA over 12 home starts this season between the White Sox and Cardinals, allowing just 15 earned runs over 68.1 frames.

Hitters from both sides of the plate should target heat. The cutter has resulted in 10 of his 20 home runs allowed with both the highest SLG (.479) and xSLG (.446) among his offerings. His sinker isn’t too far behind in either category and has the highest average exit velocity (93.2 MPH), making it a BIG target especially as he can hang pitches from time to time.

Let’s Go Bucs!