Alex Michael Faedo (born November 12, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

Amateur career

Faedo attended Braulio Alonso High School in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. As a senior, he went 6–2 with a 0.58

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 68

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in 48 innings. As a junior, he was 8–2 with a 1.15 ERA and threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

. Faedo was drafted by the

in the 40th round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, but did not sign and attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. As a freshman at Florida in 2015, Faedo appeared in 17 games with 12 starts and went 6–1 with a 3.23 ERA and 59 strikeouts. As a sophomore in 2016, he started 17 games and went 13–3 with a 3.18 ERA and 133 strikeouts. After the season, Faedo played for the United States collegiate national team. As a junior in 2017, he started 17 games during the regular season, and went 7–2 with a 2.60 ERA, with 132 strikeouts over innings pitched, and helped lead Florida to the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

, and win their first

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. During the College World Series, Faedo allowed five hits and no runs, with 22 strikeouts in innings against TCU. He was named to the All-Tournament Team and awarded the

College World Series Most Outstanding Player The College World Series Most Outstanding Player is an award for the best individual performance during the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The recipient of the award is announced at the completion of the College World Series Championship ...

Professional career

Faedo was again selected by the Detroit Tigers, in the first round, 18th overall, of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed with the Tigers, but did not make his professional debut in 2017 and sat out the season due to his workload at Florida. Faedo began the 2018 season with the

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. On June 18, the Tigers promoted Faedo to the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

of the Double-A Eastern League. In 24 total starts between the two teams, he went 5–10 with a 4.02 ERA. Faedo returned to Erie to begin 2019. He made 22 starts for the 2019 SeaWolves, pitching to a 6–7 record with a 3.90 ERA and 134 strikeouts over innings. The Tigers added Faedo to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season. On December 19, 2020, the Tigers announced that Faedo would undergo

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

on his throwing elbow which would cause him to sit out the entire 2021 season. Fully recovered from surgery, Faedo started the 2022 season in Lakeland. He posted a 2.53 ERA in three appearances for the Flying Tigers before being sent to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. After making just one start for Toledo, he was called up to the Tigers on May 4 and made his major league debut in the second game of a doubleheader against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He started and pitched five innings, allowing eight hits, two earned runs and one walk, while striking out one batter. He left the game with the score tied 2–2, receiving a no-decision. After making two starts, Faedo was returned to Toledo. He was brought up again by the Tigers on May 16, following an injury to

Michael Pineda Michael Francisco Pineda Paulino (born January 18, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers. ...

. He started the May 16 game against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

, near his childhood home, and gave up just one run in innings. In his next start on May 22, Faedo earned his first major league win, allowing two runs in innings against the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

. Once Pineda returned from the injured list on July 1, Faedo was optioned back to Toledo. Faedo was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to begin the 2023 season.

Personal life

Faedo is the nephew of former

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

shortstop Lenny Faedo. His father, Landy Faedo, is a long-time high school baseball coach in the

Tampa Bay area The Tampa Bay area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the United St ...

References

External links

Florida Gators bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faedo, Alex 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Tampa, Florida College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners Detroit Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Florida Gators baseball players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Toledo Mud Hens players