Alex Faedo

The nephew of 1978 first-round pick and ex-big leaguer Len Faedo, Alex Faedo played at Tampa's Alonso High for his uncle. An unsigned 40th-round pick in 2014, he became an instant rotation member at Florida, pitching ahead of A.J. Puk in the rotation by the end of 2016 and finishing the summer as the No. 1 prospect on USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team. At that time, all three of his pitches--fastball, slider, changeup--earned plus grades from some scouts. Faedo had minor surgery on both knees in the fall, affecting his conditioning and offseason routine, and hadn't quite gotten rolling for much of the spring as the calendar turned to May. At its best, Faedo's slider rivals that of North Carolina's J.B. Bukauskas, though it has a bit less power in the 83-84 mph range. He manipulates the pitch's shape well and can locate it for strikes or as a chase pitch, though at times he gets too cute and throws too many sliders. Faedo's fastball velocity has tended to be average at 88-92 mph this spring, but he's pitched in the 92-94 register in the past, and he fills up the strike zone with his heater despite it having plus life. He can sink it and cut it, and at times his changeup has similar sinking life and run. Faedo's longer arm action gives scouts some pause but hasn't impeded his feel for the strike zone, and he has plenty of track record for clubs picking high to rely on.