Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals: Grapefruit League GameThread...

Erick Fedde worked all winter to bulk up so he could get through a full season after dealing with injury issues over the last few summers.

“I’ve had a couple seasons now and the things I’ve been doing haven’t quite worked, so now I’m going about it in a very different manner,” Fedde said.

“Before I was maybe going for the limber and lean look, and now I’m just trying to get bigger, because I look around the clubhouse and a lot of the — especially the starting rotation is a lot of really big dudes.

“So, I’m going to try to end up maybe looking a little bit more like them and see if I can get through this full season.”

Before the Nationals signed both Aníbal Sánchez and Jeremy Hellickson, Fedde said he was hoping to earn a spot in the back of the rotation.

“This is a big [season] for me,” the 25-year-old right-hander said.

“It’s maybe my last year for options. It’s a big one just to kind of prove that I belong. I’m just going to fight for everything I can, and the goal is to go out there and prove that I should be an everyday guy.”

Thus far in his big league career, the 2011 1st Round pick has put up a 6.44 ERA, a 5.29 FIP, 4.11 BB/9, 8.36 K/9, and a .305/.383/.529 line against in 14 starts and 65 2⁄3 innings pitched.

Fedde gets the start this afternoon on the road in Jupiter, Florida’s Roger Dead Stadium in the second game of Grapefruit League action for the Nationals.

Davey Martinez has a mix of veterans and younger players on today’s trip for the matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals, which gets going at 1:05 PM EST.

Today’s game is being broadcast on ESPN+ and MLB.tv. Follow with your fellow Nats fans...