July 18, 2014

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Former UNLV pitcher Erick Fedde joined the Washington Nationals after agreeing to terms on a deal worth approximately $2.5 million, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com, just hours before the signing deadline on Friday.

"We're excited to have an upside arm such as Fedde in the family," Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement by the team. "[We are] looking forward to seeing him and getting him down to Florida and beginning his rehab process and taking him through our philosophy.

In June, the Las Vegas native became the third Rebel in school history to be taken in the first round when he was selected as the 18th overall pick by the Nationals.

Fedde finished his junior campaign with a team-best 1.76 ERA to go with an 8-2 record in 76.2 innings of work. Despite his season being shortened due to injury, he became the third UNLV pitcher to earn Mountain West Pitcher of the Year honors and allowed just 22 runs, which is the lowest number of runs allowed in at least 60 innings of work in school history. He also finished the year with 82 strikeouts and held opponents to a .209 batting average en route to earning second team All-America honors.

"Some pretty good scouts with the Nationals really thought he was a special type of guy, so with that said, we feel really good about his upside," Rizzo said. "He's a big, physical right-handed pitcher that has good stuff and commands it well. His repertoire is deep and we feel he's going to be a successful starting pitcher in the big leagues soon."

As a Rebel, Fedde compiled a 21-10 career record to go with a 3.18 ERA, which is the fourth lowest in school history. He struck out 231 batters in 263.1 innings of work and held opponents to a .247 batting average. He had two complete outings, including one in 2014 against San Diego State, and made 41 appearances, all starts, for UNLV.