The St. Louis Cardinals, for reasons only John Mozeliak can explain, continue to use Erick Fedde every fifth day, and they continue to pay the consequences. Fedde got roughed up yet again on Tuesday, this time by the 24-76 Colorado Rockies. Yes, it's been that bad. This start, even more than the others, has Cardinals fans irate with the long-time executive.
The second batter he faced, Mickey Moniak, drilled a 450-foot home run to give the Rockies an early lead. The second inning featured a two-run double off the bat of Adael Amador, an infielder who entered the day with a .165 career batting average in 127 MLB at-bats in his career. The third inning saw him give up a three-run homer to Ryan McMahon, allowing the Rockies to break the game open.
#STLCards RHP Erick Fedde throws a get-me-over sinker middle/middle on a 3-0 count and #Rockies 3B Ryan McMahon clearly had the green light. He hit the ball 410 feet for a three-run HR that makes it 6-0 #Rockies . pic.twitter.com/CszQixVFlZ
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) July 23, 2025
Overall, Fedde allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings of work before he was relieved to start the fourth. Barring a massive Cardinals comeback, St. Louis just wasted a game they absolutely had to have against a historically bad foe for absolutely no justifiable reason by starting Fedde. Again, Cardinals fans are irate.
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Cardinals accomplish nothing by rostering Erick Fedde
I mean, what're we doing here? What are the Cardinals trying to gain out of starting Fedde at this point? He's been uncompetitive for much of the season, and he's only getting worse as the season has progressed. Did the Cardinals really expect him to pitch well? Did they really expect his trade value to boom if he pitched well against a historically bad Rockies team?
This, ultimately, is why Cardinals fans are so irate with Mozeliak. It makes no sense that Fedde is still getting starts for this team. If they want to win, why are they starting the guy who had a 6.41 ERA in his last 10 starts before Tuesday's implosion? The Cardinals were 5-14 in his first 19 starts, which is impossibly bad for a team that was three games over .500 overall entering the day. If they want to build for the future, how does using a struggling 32-year-old on an expiring contract help?
The Cardinals aren't flush with pitching depth, but they've had Michael McGreevy, one of their top prospects, stuck in the Minors for much of the year to accommodate starting Fedde. McGreevy is better, younger and more controllable than Fedde. He just threw six brilliant innings on Monday against this same Rockies team. Again, the Fedde obsession makes no sense.
Latest Erick Fedde dud should be last Cardinls straw
We've been saying Fedde should be gone for what feels like months now, but this has to be his final start with St. Louis, right? I mean, how can the team justify giving him another start after what Cardinals fans just witnessed?
Sure, Coors Field favors hitters, but the Rockies, even with the altitude advantage, are a below-average offensive team at home. Again, this is a historically bad baseball team we're talking about here. McGreevy shoved, but Fedde still got hammered.
It simply has to end at this point. Fedde's trade value is completely shot, he's not helping them win, and he won't be back next season. At this point, the Cardinals would benefit from using just about anybody else. Hopefully, Mozeliak is ready to finally admit defeat on the Fedde experiment and give Cardinals fans something to cheer about.