The White Sox did not spend a lot of money in free agency this offseason, but they did sign a lot of players. The one who signed the most expensive deal this free agency was none other than Erick Fedde, the reigning KBO Cy Young winner and MVP.
A lot of people did not know how to feel about this signing, as a quick look at his major league stats, and nobody would be impressed. But, when you do a deep dive into how his stint in Korea went, many people get intrigued.
Fedde, who will be 31 for the entire 2024 season, played all of 2023 in the KBO, where he was absolutely outstanding. While the KBO is not necessarily comparable to the major leagues, there is still plenty of talent to be found, as it is still one of the most competitive leagues in the world outside the United States.
In 30 starts for the NC Dinos, Fedde had a 2.00 ERA over 180 innings. He struck out 209 batters while walking just 35 batters. He added an elite .954 WHIP, which means he had less than one batter on base per inning.
This was a dominant season by Fedde, as he looked like he finally unlocked the talent that many major league evaluators knew he had, as he was a consensus top-100 prospect in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. This is a big reason why the White Sox took a chance on him, as it’s not like he was some no name player that went to Korea, he was an underperforming former top prospect who made some adjustments overseas and he is now ready for a jump back to the MLB.
Now, there is no guarantee that Fedde will replicate what he did in Korea for the White Sox, but there is a good chance that he is significantly better than what he was in the MLB before moving to Korea. Plus, some of the last few players to come back to the major leagues after a stint in Korea have been very successful, specifically Merill Kelly.
Since returning from the KBO, Merill Kelly has been a very good major league pitcher and he did not have anywhere near as good of a season that Fedde did there. In fact, Merill Kelly never even made the major leagues until he transferred to the KBO. This is a good sign that Fedde could be a very good pitcher for the White Sox, as he was better in the states and in Korea.
Considering Fedde altered his pitch arseonal and added a new sweeper pitch, he will be a completely different pitcher than he was just a few years ago. He looks to build off that amazing year in Korea and bring it stateside.
Fedde looks to open up the season in the top half of the rotation for the White Sox and eat a significant amount of innings. If he is as good as Merill Kelly, the Sox could look to flip Fedde for prospects, as he has a very affordable deal that teams would love to have in their rotation.
For now we hope that he turns his career around, as he could be a valuable asset for the White Sox this season.
