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Washington Nationals: Breaking down the fifth starter candidates

By Matt Holleran

CINCINNATI, OH - MARCH 31: Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals gets a visit from pitching coach Derek Lilliquist in the sixth inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 31, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Nationals won 13-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - MARCH 31: Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals gets a visit from pitching coach Derek Lilliquist in the sixth inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 31, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Nationals won 13-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Washington Nationals Erick Fedde
(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

2 – Erick Fedde

Our second candidate for the Washington Nationals fifth starter role is third-year man Erick Fedde. While he may be an outside bet, he’s shown flashes in his big league career that may give him an opportunity in Spring Training.

Last season Fedde got his first real taste of the major leagues and went 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA in 11 starts. Now if you just look strictly at the numbers, you would believe that Fedde had a pretty poor year, but his stats are a bit misleading.

If you watched Fedde pitch last season you saw things that impressed you. His movement and velocity with his fastball were encouraging, and when he had his changeup and slider working as secondary pitches he was hard to hit.

It is clear Fedde has great stuff, but the key for him is his control. He walked at least one batter in 10 of his 11 starts and walked 22 total batters in 50 innings. On the flip side, he struck out at least three batters in all but two of his starts and struck out 46 in his 50 total innings.

By these numbers you can see that Fedde has swing and miss stuff, it is just about getting his control down and not giving batters free passes. For Fedde, Spring Training will be huge, as it will give him a chance to show if he can get his command under control.

In all likelihood, Fedde is chasing Ross as the frontrunner for the job, so it will take an impressive spring from him to show the Nationals he is the guy they want.

Chance Erick Fedde is the fifth starter: 35%

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