Fedde stays clean in '17 with scoreless outing

After holding his own against Major League hitters in Spring Training, Erick Fedde has his eyes set on Eastern League domination. So far, so good.

Washington's No. 2 prospect spun six scoreless innings Thursday in Double-A Harrisburg's 5-4 loss to Bowie to run his shutout streak to 11 innings to start the season. Fedde allowed three hits and one walk while hitting a batter and striking out four.
"I was commanding the fastball really well, kept it down in the zone and got a ton of ground balls," Fedde said. "I was able to try a lot of off-speed behind in counts to keep guys off balance."
Fedde induced 10 ground-ball outs with at least one in every inning, including the first four batters he retired and six of the first seven. He didn't record a strikeout until Drew Dosch went down swinging to end the third.
"That's my pitching style -- I'm a guy who likes to sink fastballs," Fedde said. "Groundouts are just as good as punchouts for me and are something I have no problem getting every game."
Box score
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-hander allowed one runner to reach scoring position in the first four innings but really found trouble in the fifth. A leadoff walk to Orioles No. 24 prospectD.J. Stewart preceded a single by Austin Wynns, and a groundout by Erick Salcedo advanced the runners. Fedde got Glynn Davis to pop out and Cedric Mullins to ground out to end the threat.
"It's just a mentality -- you make a mess up to this point and just have to stop it right there," he said. "I was able to get out of both innings I got into trouble -- it's a good feeling to get out of it."
Dosch singled to lead off the sixth before Fedde struck out Audry Pérez and got Aderlin Rodriguez to pop out, but a fielding error by Yadiel Hernandez in left allowed Garabez Rosa to reach and moved Dosch to third with two outs. Washington's 2014 first-rounder wiggled out of that jam by getting Stewart, who had singled and walked against him earlier in the game, to ground out to third.
"He had two really good at-bats off me previously ... he'd been taking good swings at off-speed," Fedde said. "I just decided I'd stay fastball away with him and force him to beat me the other way. I actually broke his bat."
Harrisburg's lead didn't last long once Fedde was pulled after 95 pitches -- 60 strikes -- as right-hander Derek Self was tagged for four runs on three hits and a walk without recording an out in the seventh. Righty Ryan Brinley took over and tossed two scoreless innings before fellow righty Jimmy Cordero (0-1) allowed a walk-off single to Rodriguez with one out in the ninth.
Although Fedde ended up missing out on a win for the second straight start, the 24-year-old has taken a noticeable step forward. He posted a 2-1 record and a 3.99 ERA, allowing 33 hits over five starts spanning 29 1/3 innings for the Senators toward the end of last season. So far this year, Fedde has scattered seven hits over 11 frames while holding opponents to a .171 batting average.
"I think it's a big thing about commanding fastballs down and being able to throw all your pitches in any count," he said. "I've made it a priority this year -- adding a curveball, throwing my changeups more and just keeping guys off balance."
Fedde has done a great job maintaining the momentum he built in Spring Training with the big league club, when he went 2-0 with a 3.29 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. The experience was an eye-opening one for the Las Vegas native.
"When you think you work hard and you get to that level and show up every day and everybody is grinding and working hard, it almost makes it easier for you to work hard," Fedde said. "The mentality at that level is something I never experienced before and something I'm craving to get back."
Continued improvement from Fedde could make him a candidate for a promotion as the season wears on, whether it's to Triple-A Syracuse or Washington, D.C. Future possibilities aside, Fedde remains focused on the present.

"I'm just trying to go out every single game and throw as well as I can," he said. "My personal goal is to make it as hard as possible for them not to call me up. I'll just keep going out and throwing well, and if I get the call, I'll be ecstatic."
Nationals No. 21 prospect Raudy Read went 3-for-4 with two doubles, while fifth-ranked Andrew Stevenson added two hits out of the leadoff spot. No. 14 Drew Ward blasted a two-strike, two-out homer in the ninth to tie the game, 4-4, before Rodriguez's heroics in the bottom of the frame.
No. 26 Baltimore prospect John Means allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings for the Baysox. Jesus Liranzo (1-0), ranked 16th in the Orioles system, allowed the game-tying home run to Ward in the ninth, but picked up the win.