Entering the 2022 MLB regular season, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Alex Faedo seemed like an afterthought. The former first-round pick is making his presence felt when the organization needs him the most.
The offense has been stuck in neutral for the better part of the year, and it's been a roster that has seen a parade of injuries on what feels like a nightly basis. The Tigers are currently without their entire starting rotation that they began the year with, if you count Tarik Skubal.
The organization dodged a bullet with Skubal, who exited the game on Friday after taking a line drive off the shin. Recently, Tigers' manager A.J. Hinch mentioned that after Saturday's rainout, the team is electing to give their star left-hander an extra day off.
The Tigers are also without phenom Casey Mize who is currently in Lakeland rehabbing. Mize is battling some elbow discomfort which is undoubtedly cause for concern. Detroit is also without their big offseason free-agent addition of Eduardo Rodriquez.
So far, 2022 hasn't been kind to the Detroit Tigers.
Rodriquez was recently placed on the Injured List (IL) with a ribcage sprain. The list goes on and on. Detroit is also without Matt Manning, who suffered a shoulder injury and then was pulled early during a rehab start in Toledo with an illness. Hinch is also trying to piece together a rotation without the likes of Michael Pineda, who suffered a broken middle finger on his pitching hand after being struck by a line drive, and Tyler Alexander is out with a sprained elbow.
All of these injuries seem unimaginable, yet here we are, and that is just the starting pitching staff. Detroit also began the year without a couple of key pieces in their bullpen, including Jose Cisnero and Kyle Funkhouser. We can also now add Will Vest to this list.
Alex Faedo is proving that he belongs in the Detroit Tigers' starting rotation.
The Detroit Tigers selected Alex Faedo with the no. 18 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Florida. This just goes to show that sometimes we need to be patient with top prospects. Faedo, 26, finally made his major league debut earlier this month and hasn't looked back. Faedo returns to Detroit after successfully recovering from the ever so common Tommy John surgery.
He felt forearm discomfort back in August of 2020 and was promptly shut down. Before that, Faedo had come off a stellar 2019 campaign with Detroit's Double-A affiliate in Erie, tossing 115 1/3 innings striking out 135 batters, and walking just 25 en route to a 3.90 ERA.
The youngster struggled early on Sunday against the Guardians needing 29 pitches but proved he could settle in as the game progressed and gave the Tigers another much-needed quality start. He finished the day by allowing six hits and two runs over 5 1/3 innings of work, pacing the Tigers to a 4-2 victory.
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So far this season, the young right-hander has an ERA of 3.00 and is 1-1 over four starts.
