Irvin gave up two hits over four scoreless innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets. He struck out five without walking a batter.

EDGE Analysis

The 27-year-old righty made his first start of the spring and looked much better than he had in two prior relief stints, firing 37 of 51 pitches for strikes and having few issues with what could very well have been New York's Opening Day lineup. Irvin is locked into a rotation spot for the Nationals, and while expectations are low after he posted a 4.61 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 18.7 percent strikeout rate over 121 innings as a rookie last season, he does have an intriguing 11:2 K:BB through his first 7.2 frames this spring.