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Who is Alex Faedo?
If you were in the same room, you might ask, "Who’s the tall guy?" Alex is the tall guy. All six foot five of him. He bats right, throws right, and at 220 pounds, Alex is the stud number one starting pitcher for the University of Florida. That makes him the best pitcher on one of the best college baseball teams in the country.
How does Faedo Rank?
In June of last year, following the draft, Faedo was often mentioned as the possible first pick in this year's draft. Minor knee surgery in the offseason caused him to have a slow start the year. Velocity down 1-3 MPH on the fastball. He has moved from top five to the next tier. Some think he could be there at #11.
What’s Faedo’s game?
Well, he leads with his fastball. As the season has progressed, the fastball has returned to 91-93. Sometimes touching 95MPH, when he adds mustard. He has an excellent changeup, although he is using it less this year. He has turned to a nasty slider, that is a swing and miss pitch. Faedo throws all three pitches from the same slot. He hides the ball nicely, then comes through at 3/4’s arm angle and a long stride to slingshot the pitch to the plate. He can put the ball where he wants it, with above average control.
MLB says: Fastball 60 / Changeup 50 / Slider 60/ control 50 / overall 55
What does Faedo look like?
No surprise, he looks imposing. He looks exactly like a number one is supposed to look. Other than the minor offseason knee surgery, he has enjoyed good health. Pictures of him show a happy open-faced kid. On the mound, all business. His college stats have been steady. One thing that I noticed, this year walks are up. 30 in 90 innings.
Otherwise.
College stats 26-6 / .309 ERA / 256 innings pitched / 221 hits / 67 BB / 298 SO / 1.13 Whip.
He’s a big time pitcher against top competition.
Why would the White Sox draft him?
Chris Sale, Carlos Rodon, and Carson Fulmer might tell you that the White Sox tend to draft College pitching in the first round. If he is on the board at #11, that is value. In my opinion, he should already be taken. He’s too good. He is a top four college pitcher and could easily have the best career of any pitcher in this draft. We have a lot of pitching, but you can’t have too much pitching.
Why would the White Sox look elsewhere?
We all want a position player. Maybe the team does too. Maybe they cut an under slot deal with another player. Faedo is not an under slot candidate. The most likely reason, he’s gone.
The five teams in front of the Sox, The A’s, D’Back’s, Phillies, Brewers, and Angels could all be landing spots for him. I could make a case for each of them.
In the end, the fact he has been a high-profile player on one of the best teams for three years has caused people to look past him a bit. Looking for something shiny like Austin Beck or MacKenzie Gore, or McKay, because he hits too!
One thing to keep in mind - Faedo's name ends in an O. So WU has automatic dibs.