Max Fried

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Max Dorian Fried

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Biographical Information[edit]

Max Fried was a top-10 pick in the 2012 amateur draft.

Fried started his high school career at Montclair Prep High School. When they dropped athletics, he transferred to Harvard-Westlake High School, where one of his friends, Lucas Giolito, was pitching (Giolito would also be a 2012 first-rounder). In 2012, Max went 8-2 with a 2.02 ERA, striking out 105 and walking 29 in 66 innings. He threw a fastball that usually was around 90-91 mph along with a strong curveball and had a UCLA commitment. Baseball America named him the top left-handed pitcher in the 2012 amateur draft class. The San Diego Padres took him 7th overall in the draft, the first high school hurler to go. The scout was Brent Mayne. He made his pro debut with the AZL Padres on July 2nd. Facing the AZL Athletics, he went one inning, allowing one hit and two walks and fanning one in a rough pro debut. He was 0-1 with a 3.57 ERA in 10 games (9 starts) for the AZL Padres that year. In 2013, he was 6-7 with a 3.49 ERA in 23 starts for the Class-A Fort Wayne TinCaps.

On December 19, 2014, he was the top prospect sent to the Atlanta Braves, alongside Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson and Mallex Smith, to acquire OF Justin Upton.

Fried made his major league debut with the Braves as a reliever on August 8, 2017, pitching two scoreless innings in a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. After three other relief appearances, he was returned to AAA, then came back on September 3d to make his first major league start. Facing the Chicago Cubs, he was excellent, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits in 5 innings, the only run scoring on a solo homer by Ian Happ, to receive credit for a 5-1 win. He went 1-1, 3.91 in 9 game (4 starts) that first season, then followed that in 2018 by going 1-4, 2.94 in 14 games (5 starts) as the Braves won a division title. He was used out of the bullpen in the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up 1 run in 2 1/3 innings whole appearing in all four games.

He was a full-time starter at the major league level for the first time in 2019 and turned out an excellent season as one of the Braves' most consistent pitchers. On September 5th, he allowed just 1 hit in 7 innings in shutting down the Washington Nationals, 4-2, notching his National League-leading 16th win of the year and extending his team's lead in the division race to 8 games. He finished the year at 17-6, 4.02 in 33 games, with 173 strikeouts in 165 2/3 innings. He was used exclusively as a reliever in the postseason, making 4 appearances as the Braves lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Division Series; he allowed 4 runs in as many innings of work, all of the runs coming in the nightmarish 1st inning of Game 5 that sunk the Braves' season. In 2020, he was one of the top pitchers in the National League, finishing 5th in the voting for the |Cy Young Award and 18th in the MVP balloting. He also won a Gold Glove for the first time that season. His strong performance was obscured by the fact the season was cut to 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him with a record of 7-0, 2.25 in 11 starts. He made his first career postseason start in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, being matched up against Trevor Bauer of the Cincinnati Reds on September 30th. Neither pitcher gave up a run, with Fried going 7 innings, and the game was eventually decided in the Braves' favor in the 11th inning. He then started Game 1 of both the Division Series and of the NLCS, the former against the Miami Marlins and the latter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves won both games, although he did not figure in the decision in either game. His final start came in Game 6 of the NLCS with the Braves a win away from the World Series on October 17th, and he managed to pitch into the 7th inning, allowing 3 runs, but was charged with a 3-1 loss as he was outduelled by Walker Buehler, who pitched six scoreless frames.

On July 4, 2021, he fulfilled a childhood dream by getting a walk-off hit in an 8-7 win over the Marlins. He did not pitch in that game, but came up as a pinch-hitter for Will Smith with two outs, the score tied and the bases loaded in the 10th. He proceeded to line a single into center field off Anthony Bass to drive in Dansby Swanson with the winning run. It was not a complete fluke, as he already had had 5 hits and 2 RBIs during the season and had been used as pinch-hitter earlier in the season - but only to lay down a sacrifice bunt - and a few more times in previous years. It was a third straight excellent season on the mound as well, as he went 14-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 28 starts, also recording a league-leading 2 shutouts, in spite of missing three weeks in April/May. He struck out 158 batters in 165 2/3 innings. He was at his best down the stretch, with the Braves fighting off the Philadelphia Phillies to win a division title. He was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for September/October, on the strength of going 3-0, 1.54 in 6 starts. In fact, he won his seven last decisions starting on August 3rd, and recorded both of his shutouts during these two months. He went 2-2 in the postseason as the Braves won their first World Series title since 1995, recording his wins in Game 2 of the Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Game 6 of the World Series against the Houston Astros on November 2nd. That last win clinched the title for Braves as he pitched 6 scoreless innings in a 7-0 win.

He got off to a great first half in 2022, after losing his first two starts of the year includong against the Cincinnati Reds as the Opening Day starter on April 7th. After that he won his next four starts in a row, and when he defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0, on July 5th, he improved to 9-2, with the Braves having won 13 of his 15 starts since losing the first two.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • NL All-Star (2022)
  • 3-time NL Gold Glove Winner (2020-2022)
  • NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2021)
  • NL Winning Percentage Leader (2020)
  • 2-time NL Shutouts Leader (2021 & 2023)
  • 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (2019)
  • Won one World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021

Further Reading[edit]

  • Corey Brock: "Padres tab high school lefty Fried with top pick", mlb.com, June 5, 2012. [1]
  • Daniel Kramer: "This emerging ace deserves Cy attention", mlb.com, September 4, 2020. [2]
  • Jesse Sanchez: "Fried delivers G6 gem after early ankle scare: Braves left-hander shows toughness, tosses 6 scoreless innings to help clinch title", mlb.com, November 3, 2021. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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