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Erick Fedde made his MLB debut in 2017, but his season ended in September when the 2014 1st Round pick was diagnosed with a flexor mass strain in his right arm. Fedde, 24, finished his 2017 campaign after throwing 56 1⁄3 innings at Double-A Harrisburg (3.04 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 2.88 BB/9, 8.63 K/9), 34 innings at Triple-A Syracuse (4.76 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.32 BB/9, 6.62 K/9), and 15 1⁄3 with the Nationals (9.39 ERA, 7.20 FIP, 4.70 BB/9, 8.80 K/9).
He came to Spring Training 100% healthy, and impressed his manager in the first bullpen sessions of the year.
“He’s been great,” Dave Martinez told reporters after watching Fedde throw earlier this month.
“His bullpens have been awesome. I just had a conversation with him a couple minutes ago, and we look for big things from him, but once again, he’s a guy that was hurt at the end of last year, so we want to make sure that — right now he’s ready to go, but it’s early. So we’re going to take our time, he’s going to get his innings in, and we’re going to make sure we do things right.”
Fedde is one of the pitchers, (along with the likes of A.J. Cole — who is out of options and considered the front runner for the spot — Tommy Milone, and Edwin Jackson), who is in camp this Spring competing for the fifth spot in the Nationals’ rotation.
He gets his first opportunity to start since last September when he takes on the Atlanta Braves this afternoon in Grapefruit League action from Lake Buena Vista, FL’s Champion Stadium.
Will Fedde, who struggled in his first exposure to major league hitting last season, though how much (if at all) the injury issues affected him in those outings is unclear, fight his way into the rotation. He’ll get his first opportunity to do so this afternoon.
HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR TODAY’S GAME:
#Nats at #Braves at 1:05 PM EST: Difo 2B, Robles CF, Marmolejos 1B, Severino C, Stevenson LF, Reynolds SS, Bautista RF, Dominguez 3B, Kieboom DH, Fedde RHP
— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) February 26, 2018
FOLLOW: After we all enjoyed getting to watch the Nationals on MASN yesterday, it’s back to radio only for today’s game, with the Braves’ feed via MLB.com’s audio the only option for those hoping to follow the game live... unless you’re like, you know, in Lake Buena Vista, FL to watch the game in person.