NORTH PORT, Fla. — Braves followers will at all times fondly keep in mind the evening Max Fried helped safe the 2021 World Collection title by throwing six scoreless innings after his ankle was trampled.
Fried’s proper ankle was crushed by Michael Brantley throughout a bang-bang play at first base. However the Braves’ hurler barely flinched as he composed himself with two runners on and none out within the first inning. He escaped that menace unscathed and, a couple of hours later, loved the champagne bathe reserved for champions.
“That was one of many scarier moments of my baseball profession,” supervisor Brian Snitker stated. “It’s nearly prefer it ticked him off. The good ones are like that. The aggressive drive that they’ve is what makes them who they’re. He’s proper there in that mould with the nice ones.”
As Fried tossed two scoreless innings in a 2-1 loss to the Orioles on Monday afternoon, there was motive to acknowledge how far he has come. This Grapefruit League season debut got here someday shy of the seventh anniversary of the primary Spring Coaching recreation he ever pitched in for the Braves.
Fried confirmed his potential throughout that 2017 Spring Coaching recreation towards the Tigers in Lakeland. He induced groundouts from Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez earlier than concluding his good inning with a Justin Upton strikeout.
Developing an ideal body towards a trio of All-Stars is now not a trigger for celebration. However Fried can actually admire all that he has skilled since pitching his first recreation with the Braves.
“That recreation looks like yesterday, nevertheless it additionally appears so way back as a result of a lot has occurred since then,” Fried stated. “It’s loopy how a lot I’ve grown, how a lot I’ve realized and the way a lot I’ve skilled.”
Fried has actually lived as much as expectations since Atlanta acquired him within the Dec. 2014 commerce that despatched Upton to San Diego. He has two top-five Cy Younger Award finishes throughout the previous 4 seasons, and his 60 wins for the reason that begin of ‘19 rank second amongst all MLB pitchers, trailing solely Gerrit Cole (71).
“I believe he may win [a Cy Young Award] sooner or later,” third baseman Austin Riley stated. “It’s undoubtedly in there. He simply must hold doing what he’s doing.”
There has at all times been one thing particular about Fried, who was taken by the Padres with the seventh general choice within the 2012 MLB Draft. The lefty tasted some massive league success in ‘18 after which actually took a step ahead when he added a slider earlier than his 17-win season in ‘19.
However Fried credit a lot of his success to the concern he felt when he was promoted to the Majors in the course of the latter a part of 2017, regardless of being 2-11 with a 5.92 ERA in 19 begins for Double-A Mississippi.
“I wasn’t positive I used to be ever going to get the chance to play within the massive leagues,” Fried stated. “So after I acquired it, I didn’t know if it was going to be my final time ever taking the mound, which had been my dream since I used to be slightly child.”
Although he now not has to show himself, Fried stays a highly-motivated particular person with a fantastic work ethic. It doesn’t harm that his athleticism has created motive to debate whether or not he may have been an on a regular basis outfielder on the massive league degree. However his consideration to element has helped set him aside.
“He’s ready for all the pieces,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud stated. “He’s prepared for a group three days earlier than he faces them. He’s additionally superb at adjusting on the fly in the course of the recreation.”
d’Arnaud believes Fried took his recreation to a different degree when he realized pitching to contact might be extra helpful than consistently chasing strikeouts. The numbers actually help this strategy, because the Braves’ left-hander has constantly produced a few of the finest gentle contact numbers amongst massive league pitchers.
Whether or not including the slider or turning into a extra environment friendly pitcher, Fried has been often motivated to get higher. It’s protected to say he has gotten a complete lot higher than he was when he introduced that 5.92 ERA from the Double-A degree.
“It’s been actually neat to see him develop and develop,” Snitker stated. “He’s an unbelievable competitor.”
