Erick Fedde's latest abysmal start needs to be his last for the Cardinals

After a long string of miserable starts, Erick Fedde was given another chance to redeem himself (and his trade value) against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday afternoon.

St. Louis Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol stated during the week that there were other factors at play in the decision to give Fedde another start despite his ERA ballooning from 3.44 on May 14th to 4.79 after his start against the Chicago Cubs on July 6th. Much to his manager's chagrin, Erick Fedde would continue to get starts to help boost whatever trade value he has left with the deadline just over two weeks away.

Prior to Fedde's start on Saturday, he had allowed 30 runs in his last 41.2 innings while striking out only 25 batters and walking 20. Fedde allowed three or more runs in six of his nine outings during that stretch, and the Cardinals lost seven of those nine games. He has simply not given the team the chance to win during his last nine starts.

The struggles continued for Fedde on Saturday afternoon in his "redemption" start against the Atlanta Braves. Fedde got the first two batters out thanks to a few flyouts, but the trouble compounded quickly for the right-handed starter.

Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna both hit solo home runs, and Ozzie Albies and Nacho Alvarez Jr. got on base with singles in the second inning. Albies was driven in for the third run of the game in only two innings against Erick Fedde.

The veteran righty settled down during the third and fourth innings, retiring six straight batters in those innings. He departed the game in the top of the fifth with two outs and men on first and second. Gordon Graceffo struck out Ronald Acuna Jr. to end the threat, and Fedde's line was 4.2 innings with six hits allowed, one strikeout, one walk, and three earned runs. It's an improvement upon his previous three starts, but it still isn't an ideal outing for a team looking to make a playoff push.

The four hardest hit balls in the game were against Erick Fedde: a 108.7 MPH home run by Acuna, a 106.5 MPH single by Michael Harris II, a 106.3 MPH home run by Ozuna, and a 104.7 MPH single by Alvarez Jr. Fedde recorded only four whiffs all game, and the average exit velocity against him was 91.7 MPH. He barely survived 4.2 innings of baseball.

Erick Fedde's latest start should be his final appearance for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In a year where runway was preached for young players, one man has been left on the tarmac for the Cardinals. Michael McGreevy has done all he could to be a regular starter for the major league team. He has a career 3.05 ERA in the majors across eight appearances (six starts). He's thrown 44.1 innings with 34 strikeouts.

McGreevy had an exceptional spring training as well, with a 1.08 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. He couldn't have done much more between the 2024 season and spring to prove his case to be a regular starter for the Cardinals.

McGreevy has a 3.21 ERA for Memphis through 14 starts and 70 innings. He's struck out 75 batters at Triple-A this year while walking only 14. He has nothing left to prove in the minors, and he's deserving of major-league starts.

Instead of giving runway to the now-25-year-old righty, the organization opted to employ veterans Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas as starting pitchers due to a lack of minor-league pitching depth.

At this point, it's disingenuous to the fans, Michael McGreevy, and the team to start Erick Fedde over Michael McGreevy.