Washington Nationals: Erick Fedde’s season tough to evaluate

An up-and-down year for Washington Nationals top prospect Erick Fedde ends with being shut down due to injury. How should we evaluate his season?

Yesterday, the Washington Nationals made the decision to shut down young starting pitcher Erick Fedde due to a strained flexor mass in his right forearm. Since AJ Cole is available to make starts and Fedde was probably not going to make the postseason roster, this was logically the best choice the Nats could make for the long term:

Dusty said Fedde first felt issue late in final start at AAA, wishes he said something during last Sunday's start in DC. Sent him for tests.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 4, 2017

Rizzo said Fedde MRI was "clean," flexor strain isn't near elbow. Probably would miss 1-2 starts normally, but they'll shut him down.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 4, 2017

For Fedde, it has been an interesting season to say the least. He started off the year in the rotation for Double-A Harrisburg before moving into the bullpen in mid-May. After a month in the bullpen, he went to the Triple-A rotation before making his MLB debut as a starter.

It was alarming to see Fedde’s velocity drop down in his last start against the Mets on August 27 when he gave up a pair of home runs. While Fedde doesn’t have a fastball that can reach 100 miles-per-hour, he can still get it up to 94-95 mph, which helps him with his secondary pitches.

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Now, when you evaluate Fedde, its tough to see him as an ace in a rotation at this moment. With that being said, he has the potential to be a number two or a three starter.

Fedded had some good moments at the big league level against some tough competition like the Rockies and Cubs. In addition, going 112 pitches against New York was a big step for him in his development.

While the walks were a bit high for Fedde in his three big league starts (eight), one of the things you have to like this year was his ability to get groundball outs. He had 34 groundball outs and using the changeup to get those key outs will be something to watch going forward.

At just 24 years old, there’s still a lot of development left for Fedde. In the end, the Nats made the smart decision to shut him down after all he has gone thru this season. He did throw about 16 innings less than a season ago, but there was a big adjustment period in switching roles during the season. Plus, the Nats are extra cautious with pitchers who have had Tommy John surgery in the past.

Heading into 2018, the spotlight will shine even brighter on Fedde. With Joe Ross out because of Tommy John surgery, Fedde appears to be the favorite to be the number five starter in spring training. He will go from getting a chance to pitch in major league spring training to a player trying to win a job at the big league level.

So, while some might be disappointed that Fedde didn’t live up to the prospect hype this season, remember he still has a long way to go. Despite some of the negatives, he showed some good signs at the big league level and will look to build on those in West Palm Beach in February.

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As time goes by, the answer will be more clear as to whether putting him in the bullpen earlier this year was a mistake or not.

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