Chicago White Sox starter Erick Fedde thinks his pitches are sharper

TEMPE, Ariz. — Chicago White Sox starter Erick Fedde was excited ahead of his first Cactus League game against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

“I felt like I was finally back,” Fedde said. “I was ready to go. I wanted to get the first one out of the way.

The right-hander after six seasons with the Washington Nationals. He spent 2023 with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization.

He had a stellar season, earning MVP honors after going 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA in 30 starts.

This caught the attention of MLB teams and signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Sox in December.

Fedde made his first spring appearance on Sunday at Tempe Diablo Stadium and allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk in two strikeouts during the 3-1 loss.

He called the 44-pitch outing “pretty good.”

“It’s funny, I struggled with my sweeper all spring and felt like it was good today, but my cutter wasn’t very good, which allowed lefties to have a lot of success,” Fedde said. “I’m putting that aside and now I have some real things to work on after seeing some real hitters.”

Photos: An inside look at White Sox spring training

Fedde surrendered a double to hitter Aaron Hicks and an RBI single to lefty Nolan Schanuel in the first inning. He hit Mike Trout and Taylor Ward while swinging and Brandon Drury while trying to limit the damage.

The Angels had runners on second and third with two outs when Fedde ground out Zach Neto on a fielder’s choice for the final out of the inning and a performance.

Fedde said he felt better as the spring progressed.

“I really feel like my feet are landing under me,” he said. “My pitches are starting to feel sharper and now it’s like I’m fine-tuning everything, getting ready for the season.”

Before the match, coach Pedro Grifol said that he liked Fedde’s movement on the field.

“I’m pleased with his composure, his ability to throw strikes and his ability to dominate both sides of the plate,” Grifol said. “He needs to be able to move multiple weapons around a formation three, maybe four times.”

The Fed is looking forward to this possibility.

“Best-case scenario, we give it to the back three guys to cover it,” Fedde said. “That’s always the goal, but hopefully I look back at the end of the season and realize, good or bad, I made a ton of shots and was helpful to the team.”

On Sunday, Fedde wanted to “focus on the things I’m good at, my mixes, and then improve on those.”

“I can say right away that today I needed to find my starting point for my left sweeper,” Fedde said. “I dig my cutter a little further to the left. “It’s fun now to get out in the arena and really work on those things and get sharp.”