WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. -- Erick Fedde threw his best and almost certainly his last Grapefruit League outing of the spring in Thursday's 1-0 victory against the Mets.
He held a Mets lineup featuring most of their starters to two hits across five shutout innings. Fedde, the team's No. 2 prospect as ranked by MLBPipeline.com, reared back and threw fastballs consistently around 95 mph, induced tons of weak contact and struck out three in his most impressive outing to date in his first Major League camp.
"He was masterful," manager Dusty Baker said. "He was very aggressive with his fastball, and it was moving. He showed a very quick arm, good breaking ball. When he got behind, he would make a quality pitch."
It was a sharp contrast to his last outing against the Marlins, when Fedde was hit hard for five runs on four hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings last Friday. The Nationals believed he was not being aggressive enough in the strike zone and fell behind too often in the count.
But one of the qualities that Baker has admired most in the young pitcher has been Fedde's ability to listen and to learn. Pitching coach Mike Maddux gave him a few adjustments to make, and they paid off in Thursday's game.
"I think my biggest problem last game was not attacking and falling behind," Fedde said. "That's what I did this time. I told myself: No matter what, I'm going to attack the guys, and whatever happens, happens."
This may have also been Fedde's last start in Major League camp. The season begins in less than two weeks, and the Nationals are starting to line up their rotation. Max Scherzer just came back from injury to enter the spring rotation, and right-hander Tanner Roark is expected to return to Grapefruit League play on Friday after a title run with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. That will likely leave Fedde without a spot, and the Nats want to continue to build his arm as a starting pitcher in the Minors.
But if Fedde continues pitching like he did Thursday, he is on track to make his Major League debut sometime soon in 2017.
"He was close when he got here," Baker said. "So who knows what's going to happen injury-wise or whatever. He's one of the guys at the very top of the list in case something happens, or just through natural progression of pitching. He's a guy that was sought after by many people [in trade talks], and you understood why today."