Washington Nationals: Has Erick Fedde Finally Turned A Corner?

After a disastrous start, Erick Fedde has been a completely different pitcher.

Since making his debut in 2017, Erick Fedde has been a disappointment in Washington. Entering this season, the former 2014 first-round pick, had yet to show he belongs in the starting rotation. In 216.1 innings in the big leagues, Fedde is 10-13, with a 5.03 ERA, 155 strikeouts, and a 5.34 FIP.

From 2017-2020, the 28-year-old repeatedly failed to win a starting role, despite his ample opportunities. Fedde was projected to start this season in the bullpen, but then-newcomer Jon Lester underwent off-season Thyroid surgery, which led to him missing most of Spring Training. To make matters worse, Lester was added to the COVID list and finally made his Nationals debut last night.

In his absence, Fedde was repromoted to the starting rotation and was absolutely rocked in his first outing of the season. Against the Braves, he only lasted 1.2 innings, allowing five runs on six hits. But since then, Fedde has finally started to live up to his draft billing.

Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Fedde went six innings, allowing only one run, a solo homer to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Fedde also struck out seven, allowed only two hits, and walked three. This marked the first time all season, the righty has gone longer than five innings.

On the season, Fedde is 2-2, with a 4.43 ERA, 25 strikeouts, and a 3.63 FIP. But since his first start of the season, he has a 2.61 ERA. Part of the turnaround has been due to his cutter, a pitch he has been relying on more and more. Through the first four seasons of his career, he only threw his cutter 16.8% of the time, but that number has jumped up to 28% this year.

In addition, Fedde’s cutter has mixed well with his sinker, allowing him to attack both sides of the plate. Mix this with Fedde’s increase in velocity and his recent success is understandable. In the past, his average fastball velocity was 93.1 mph, but he has been able to raise that up a tick to 94 mph. Fedde has topped out at 96-97mph, a vast improvement from years past.

Due to Fedde’s ability to blend his pitches better and his increased control, Fedde’s strikeouts numbers have skyrocketed. On the season, Fedde has a K/9 of 10.1, which is set to be a career-high. In fact, Fedde is on track to set career highs in FIP, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and K/9.

While Fedde has found newfound success, the question arises if he will be able to sustain it. During the 2019 season, Fedde impressed in the months of May and August, but was awful the rest of the season. After allowing five runs against the Mets, Fedde rebounded nicely in his most recent outing. The 28-year old being able to overcome his bad outings bodes well moving forward.

With Strasburg still on the IL and Corbin continuing to struggle, Fedde still has a spot in the rotation. Now it’s up to him if he will finally fun away with the opportunity.