Healthy again, Fedde better prepared for his next promotion

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The pitching line - one run, four hits, one walk, one strikeout in two innings - made this, in Erick Fedde's own words, a "pretty mediocre outing."

The more important numbers from Fedde's spring training debut, though, might have been 93 to 96. That's what the radar gun at ESPN Wide World of Sports consistently flashed on the Nationals right-hander's fastballs, a significant increase in velocity from the last time we saw him pitch in a game late last season.

"I'm glad to hear that's what the numbers were, because that's pretty normal for me," he said. "So, yeah, that's good to hear."

The new season couldn't come soon enough for Fedde, whose whirlwind 2017 included a temporary move to the bullpen at Double-A Harrisburg, a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, a promotion to Washington to make his major league debut, then three up-and-down starts with the Nationals that concluded with a rough outing in which his fastball dropped to 87-to-91 mph, prompting the club to give its top pitching prospect an MRI. That test revealed a strained flexor mass in his forearm, ending his season in early September.

Fedde was told at the time he'd need to rest for a month, but since the season was already over by then, he was able to slide directly into his offseason program, affording more rest and then a typical build-up of his arm after New Year's.

The end result of all that?

"I feel 100 percent healthy," he said following today's start. "I felt great."

Despite what may have looked like a disappointing 2017, Fedde (who just turned 25 yesterday) remains the Nationals' top pitching prospect and is being counted on to be a significant contributor to the big league club this season.

"I knew he finished off on the DL, but that's all I knew," new manager Davey Martinez said. "I told him: 'Hey, it's a fresh start for you. You've just got to be healthy. And if you're healthy, you're going to help us. Whether it's sooner or later, you'll definitely help us.'"

Officially, Fedde is competing with A.J. Cole for the final spot in the opening day rotation, with veterans Edwin Jackson and Tommy Milone also in camp on minor league contracts just in case. Unofficially, Fedde is at a slight disadvantage because he has options and Cole does not, and because the organization still has to monitor the workload of a former Tommy John surgery recipient who only threw a total of 105 2/3 innings in 2017.

"My goal for this camp is to break with the team and hopefully be a part of this rotation, or wherever they need me to be," he said. "I'm going to go out there and do my thing, and I'm expecting to hopefully break with the team."

Whenever Fedde does return to the majors this season, he'll do so in a better mental state than he did last summer, when he admittedly wasn't fully ready for the experience.

"I think the biggest thing this year is to keep control of my emotions," he said. "I know last year was a lot of ups and downs in the sense of my debut, and only a few starts before I was put on the DL. But this year it's more about just keeping control of everything and going out there and doing my job. ...

"This camp, I feel so much more relaxed than last. I feel great. I know if I get my chance up there this year, it's going to be, I think, a much different story."