Detroit Tigers: Alex Faedo left plenty to desire going forward in 2022

Detroit Tigers pitcher Alex Faedo, left plenty to desire going forward.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Alex Faedo had his season ended early in 2022 with a hip injury that wound up keeping him off the field since just before the All-Star break. Faedo did make 12 starts in the big leagues but was unable to return to the big league mound.

While the injury knocked out an entire second half of the season, Faedo’s performance left plenty to be desired from the Detroit Tigers organization. As the new regime starts to weigh out the options for the roster moving forward, Faedo’s tough go leaves plenty of room to go upward.

The Tigers selected Faedo with their first-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft out of the University of Florida. The expectation was that Faedo would settle into the rotation and be a solid arm for the rotation moving forward.

Instead, it took time for Faedo to work through the minors and get things going his way. There were struggles along the way, but Faedo locked in during the 2021 season, and it felt like he was ready. Ultimately he made his debut in 2022.

Faedo got things going strong and strung together some good starts. He consistently went out and got the job done with quality outings. There were seven starts in a row for Faedo, where he allowed two earned runs or less.

In those seven starts, Faedo pitched to a 2.91 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He did that while punching out 28 hitters over 37 innings pitched. A solid start, but things took a downhill turn after that for Faedo.

The second half of his performance was a lot less exciting, allowing three or more runs in all of them. That translated to five rough starts where he pitched to an 11.67 ERA and a 2.59 WHIP over 16.2 innings of work.

After that 12th start, he wound up ending up on the Injured List (IL), not returning to the mound for the Tigers again in 2022. Combining the two stretches, Faedo finished the 2022 season with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP over 53.2 innings pitched in total.

The Tigers have to be hoping that Faedo comes back stronger in 2023. As they start to anticipate what the future of the Tigers’ starting rotation looks like, it becomes harder to see Faedo as a consistent name.

Moving him into the bullpen may not be too far out of the discussion. But that’s a topic for Scott Harris and the Tigers’ front office to ponder this offseason. First and foremost, with Faedo’s hip injury, he needs to be healthy to get back on the mound in 2023.

The last update on Faedo was that he was unlikely to return this season. For Faedo, being healthy comes first and foremost, so the good news is that he can come back in 2023 strong. There’s still reason to look forward to what Faedo could bring to the table, even as a reliever.

After all, Faedo showed several solid starts and has stuff that will help the big-league club. There are just going to be some questions about how it will play out moving forward for Faedo and the Tigers.