WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Erick Fedde has his own breakfast of champions: A big bowl of fried rice.

Keeping weight on is a challenge for the 6-foot-3 right-hander, who estimates he was around 170 pounds when he was drafted in 2014. Fedde gained 12 pounds this winter to combat that ahead of his fourth Major League season, and he entered Spring Training weighing 202 pounds.

“I’m getting older,” Fedde, 26, said. “It’s one of those things where you learn how long the season is. Especially last year, [I’ve] got to find a way to stay durable. There’s a hundred different ways to do it, but I think having a little extra meat is better. Last year was the first year I didn’t have any injuries, so I’m just trying to keep it right there.”

Fedde is part of a trio with Joe Ross and Austin Voth utilized as Washington’s fifth starting pitcher. Fedde got the start Sunday afternoon against the Marlins in the Nationals' split-squad game.

“He’s got great stuff,” manager Dave Martinez said pregame. “It’s being consistent, finishing hitters. He gets a lot of hitter 0-2 and then he puts himself back into 2-2 counts, 3-2 counts.”

Fedde threw 34 pitches (16 strikes) over 1 1/3 innings with two strikeouts, two walks, a hit and an unearned run allowed in the Nats’ 5-2 loss. He went through a 1-2-3 first inning, but exited with the bases loaded in the second.

"You need to be able to work out of both situations, when things are going good, or things aren't,” Fedde said after the game. “In a sense of the first one, to get a little bit of everything, I think that's best-case scenario."

Last season, Fedde went 4-2 with a 4.50 ERA over 78 frames in 21 games, starting in 12 of those contests. This offseason, he trained in his hometown of Las Vegas and worked with his friend, Braves pitcher Max Fried, on arm action.

“The term would be a ‘forearm flyout,’ and then also getting really long with my back arm,” Fedde said. “Some of his tips on how he keeps his arms in front of his body. It’s one of those things that you could hear the same thing 10 times, but if one person happens to say something that clicks, and he mentioned something with my hands, and it clicked.”

Then there was the new diet. Fedde woke up every morning around 7:30 a.m. and reached in his refrigerator for one of the jugs of fried rice his girlfriend had cooked in advance. Not being much of a breakfast person, he found the rice to be easy on his stomach for workouts. Then he’d follow up his training with a protein shake.

For dinners, Fedde’s go-to was lime-marinated steak and rice pilaf from Trader Joe’s. “That already comes pre-rubbed, so life’s easy,” he noted. Ideally, he'd fit in four or five meals each day.

“Usually during the season, I lose a lot,” Fedde said. “My goal is for that not to happen. It’s always been something that’s been a struggle. I really have to focus on waking up early and eating. It’s not something that comes easy to me. I’m sure there’ll be one day where I wish it was back to like that.”

Pitching plans
Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin are slated to throw an extra round each of live batting practice before they appear in a Spring Training game. The Nationals want to prepare them for Opening Day while countering the long postseason. Strasburg, the 2019 World Series Most Valuable Player Award winner, pitched 36 1/3 innings in the playoffs; Corbin threw 23 1/3.

“It’s all about, for me, putting them in a controlled environment where they can just slow down if they want to, and not rush them into games,” Martinez said.

Home opener honors
The Nationals commemorated their first Spring Training home game at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches with a World Series trophy celebration and the raising of a championship flag in the outfield.

Up next
Righty Wil Crowe is scheduled to start when the Nationals host the Mets on Monday at 1:05 p.m. ET. The Nationals' second-round pick in the 2017 Draft, Crowe posted a 7-10 record with a 4.70 ERA in 26 starts combined between Double-A and Triple-A last season. The game will be available live on Gameday Audio.