Max Dorian Fried ( ; born January 18, 1994), nicknamed "Maximus", is an American professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
for the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB).
Drafted in 2012 by the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
in the first round, seventh overall, Fried made his major league debut in 2017. His 17 wins in 2019 were 2nd-most in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
, and his seven wins in 2020 were again 2nd-most in the NL. Through 2021, Fried was second in win–loss percentage of Braves career leaders, at .690. Fried pitched 6 shut-out innings in the final game of the
2021 World Series
The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the American League (AL) champion H ...
against the
Houston Astros, helping lead the Braves to their first World Series title in 26 years.
In 2020, Fried won the
NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher and the
Fielding Bible Award at pitcher. In 2021, he won the Gold Glove Award again, as well as the
Silver Slugger Award for pitchers, becoming the third pitcher in MLB history to win both awards in the same year. He was also named to the
All-MLB Team
The All-MLB Team is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) honor given to the best players across both leagues at each position during the season. Selections to the first and second teams are determined by a fan vote and a panel consisting of media ...
those two years. In 2022 he was named an All Star, and won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award at pitcher.
Early career
Fried was born and grew up in
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, the middle son of Carrie and Jonathan Fried, and is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
[David R. Cohen (April 25, 2017)]
"Max Fried's Birthright From Israel to SunTrust Park; The Braves sent the Jewish left-handed pitcher down to Gwinnett, but he's expected back up in September,"
''Atlanta Jewish Times
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
''. His younger brother Jake, also a pitcher, attended the University of Arizona. Max began attending the Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and afterwards served as a coach and front office executive. He also played in the Nippon Profe ...
Baseball Academy in Encino, California, at the age of seven, and learned how to throw a curveball from the retired outfielder. Fried pitched for the 2009 Maccabiah Games
The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...
Team USA Juniors baseball team that won a gold medal in Israel.
Fried first attended Montclair College Preparatory School
Montclair College Preparatory School, also commonly known as "Montclair Prep", was a school located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, near Panorama City.Lin, C.J.Valley private school options dwindling." August 17, 2011. Retrieved on August ...
, in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, where he played baseball, football, and basketball. As a sophomore, with Ethan Katz
Ethan Russell Katz (born July 4, 1983) is an American professional baseball Coach (baseball), coach, and former minor league baseball player. He is the pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to that, Katz ...
as his pitching coach, he was 10–3 with a 1.81 earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA), and was named the Olympic League MVP and to the All-California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...
(CIF) Division V first team. In his junior year Fried was 7–3 with a 1.31 ERA, with 100 strikeouts in 69 innings, as he also played outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball a ...
and batted .360 with four home runs and 30 RBIs. He was named the 2011 Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Male High School Athlete of the Year.
After Montclair Prep cut its baseball team subsequent to his junior year, Fried then transferred to Harvard-Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades seven through twelve. Its two predec ...
in Los Angeles, where he wore uniform number 32 in honor of Sandy Koufax
Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...
and played with fellow future MLB pitchers Lucas Giolito
Lucas Frost Giolito (born July 14, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).
He attended Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, California, and was selected by the Washington N ...
and Jack Flaherty. In 2012, his senior year, Fried was 8–2 with a 2.02 ERA, and 105 strikeouts in 66 innings. He was a 2012 Rawlings-Perfect Game 1st Team All-American.
Draft and minor leagues
Draft (2012)
The San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
selected Fried in the first round with the seventh overall selection of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft
The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks, first ...
. Fried chose to sign with the Padres for $3 million despite his commitment to the UCLA Bruins baseball
The UCLA Bruins baseball team is the varsity college baseball team of the University of California, Los Angeles. Having started playing in 1920, the program is a member of the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference. It plays its home games at Jackie ...
team. '' Baseball America'' rated him the top left-hander available in the draft.
San Diego Padres (2012–2014)
Fried made his professional debut for the Arizona League Padres
The Arizona Complex League Padres are a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is also ...
in 2012 and spent the whole season there, going 0–1 with a 3.57 ERA in 17.2 innings pitched. He played for the Fort Wayne TinCaps
The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...
in 2013 where he compiled a 6–7 record and 3.49 ERA in 23 starts. At the end of the year, Fried was ranked the 43rd-best prospect in the minors by MLBPipeline. He was also named an MiLB.com Padres Organization All Star, and ''Baseball America'' ranked his curveball as the best in the Padres' minor league system.
In 2014, he was ranked the Padres' top pitching prospect, and their No. 2 prospect overall, by MLB.com. Fried was injured for much of the year and did not make his season debut until July. The next month, on August 20, Fried underwent Tommy John surgery; he missed the remainder of the 2014 season.[
]
Atlanta Braves (2014–2017)
On December 19, 2014, the Padres traded Fried, Jace Peterson
Jace Ryan Peterson (born May 9, 1990) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Balti ...
, Dustin Peterson, and Mallex Smith to the Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
in exchange for Justin Upton and Aaron Northcraft. Fried missed the entire 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.[
He returned to action on April 9, 2016, for the Rome Braves. Fried spent all of 2016 with Rome, pitching to an 8–7 record and 3.93 ERA in 21 games (20 starts), striking out 112 batters in 103.0 innings. Fried ended the season ranked by ''Baseball America'' as the 6th-best prospect in the ]South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...
. His fastball, clocked at 93–94 mph, reached 96–97 mph in the second half of the season. The Braves added Fried to their 40-man roster
A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...
after the season.
Fried was invited to spring training for the first time at the start of the 2017 season. Fried began the season at the Class AA level with the Mississippi Braves
The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...
. He was ranked as the Braves' No. 8 prospect overall by MLB.com in May, and the #89 prospect in minor league baseball in July. Fried was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 30.
Major leagues
Atlanta Braves (2017–present)
2017: Major league debut
Fried was called up to the Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
on August 5, 2017. He debuted on August 8, throwing two scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, displaying what David O'Brien of ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' called "a devastating curveball". Two weeks later, Fried returned to the minor leagues, joining the AAA Gwinnett Braves. In 26 innings pitched for the Braves for the season, he was 1–1 with a 3.81 ERA.
At the end of the 2017 season, Fried joined the Peoria Javelinas
The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the S ...
of the Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...
, for whom he was named league Player of the Week on October 31. He led the league with 32 strikeouts in 26 innings (3rd in the league), and was 3–1 with a 1.73 ERA (6th in the league) in six starts.[David O'Brien (December 11, 2017)]
"Braves place four on Arizona Fall League top-prospects team,"
''Atlanta Journal Constitution''. He ranked first among starters with a .163 opponents' average, was second in fewest-baserunners-allowed-per-nine-innings (7.96), and was named to the AFL's Top Prospects Team. ''Baseball America'' rated him # 3 on the AFL Hot Sheet. In December, Braves manager Brian Snitker said that he might look at Fried, Lucas Sims, or another pitcher as the team's fifth starter in 2018.
2018
Fried began the 2018 season with the AA Mississippi Braves
The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...
. After one game, he joined the Gwinnett Stripers
The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...
. He was called up to Atlanta in April. In 33.2 innings pitched for the Braves in the 2018 regular season, he was 1–4 with 44 strikeouts and a 2.94 ERA. With runners in scoring position he kept batters to one hit in 30 at bats (.033); with RISP and two outs, opposing batters were 0-for-14 with eight strikeouts.
2019
Fried was placed in the bullpen at the start of the 2019 season, and later moved to the starting rotation. In a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
on May 7, Fried was hit on his left hand by a batted ball from Alex Verdugo and left the game, but he made his next regularly scheduled start.
In 2019 Fried was 17–6 with a 4.02 ERA, as in 33 games (30 starts) he pitched 165.2 innings in which he struck out 173 batters. His 17 wins were 2nd in the National League, and his .739 won-loss percentage was 5th in the league. He induced the second-lowest percentage of fly balls (22.2%), and the third-highest percentage of ground ball
In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...
s (53.6%), of all NL pitchers, and threw his curveball 24.6% of the time (6th in the league). His 9.398 strikeouts/9 IP were the 5th-highest in a single season of any Braves pitcher in history.
On defense, he led all NL pitchers in assists with 34, and had the 2nd-best range factor/9 innings pitched of 2.23. He had a 6 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the best in the major leagues among pitchers. Fried also batted .196 (9th among NL pitchers)/.262 (6th)/.268 (10th), and led all NL pitchers with at least 50 plate appearances in runs (11) and BB/SO ratio (0.31), while having the 2nd-lowest swinging strike percentage (7.1%), 3rd in contact percentage (81.6%), and tying for 3rd in walks (5).
2020: Undefeated, Gold Glove and Fielding Bible Awards, All-MLB First Team
Going into 2020, Freddie Freeman predicted that Fried would be: "phenomenal, better than last year." During the season Fried developed into the ace starting pitcher for the Braves.
His four pickoffs through September 6 were the most in the majors in 2020, and he needed only 12 pickoff attempts to do so. Since his major league debut in 2017, Fried's 14 pickoffs were the most in the majors, and he was successful on 19% of his attempts. In that same time-span, pitchers in all of baseball had been successful in picking off runners in only 0.017% of attempts.
Fried started the season by becoming the first left-handed pitcher to not allow any home runs through eight starts, with his team winning every game, since Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
in 1917.
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 regular season, Fried was a perfect 7–0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He led the major leagues in won-loss percentage (1.000) and pickoffs (4), led the National League in WAR
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
for pitchers (2.9), was 2nd in the NL in Wins Above Replacement
Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...
-all behind Mookie Betts
Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts (born October 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Boston Red Sox. In 2018, while with the Red Sox, he became ...
, and tied for 2nd in the NL in wins. He held batters to an average exit velocity on batted balls of 83.4 mph, and hard-hit balls to 23.8%, both among the lowest 2% of all major league pitchers.
On defense, Fried led all major league pitchers in assists for the second consecutive season (with 15), tied for the MLB lead in pickoffs (with 4; with his 9 in 2019–20 he was tops in major league baseball), and led all pitchers with five Defensive Runs Saved.
Fried won the 2020 NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher. He became the fourth Braves pitcher to win the award, joining Mike Hampton
Michael William Hampton, Jr. (born September 9, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. Hampton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1993 through 2010. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, New ...
, Greg Maddux, and Phil Niekro, and the first Braves player to win the award for a pitcher in 17 years.
He also won the 2020 Fielding Bible Award at pitcher. The award honors the top fielder in the Major Leagues at pitcher. He came in fifth in voting for the 2020 NL Cy Young Award.
He was named a starter on the 2020 All-MLB First Team.
2021: Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards, All-MLB Second Team
Fried was the Braves' 2021 Opening Day starting pitcher. His first career complete game shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
was a Maddux, pitched against the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
on August 20, 2021. Fried threw a second Maddux on September 24, while facing the San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
. His 1.76 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in the second half of the season were the best in the major leagues. He was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for September, after posting a 1.54 ERA.
In the 2021 regular season, Fried was 14–7 with a 3.04 ERA (9th in the National League), and his 14 wins were 5th in the NL. In 28 starts he threw 2 shutouts (leading the league), as in 165.2 innings he averaged 7.5 hits, 0.8 home runs (3rd), and 2.2 walks per 9 innings, for a 1.087 WHIP. His 8.584 strikeouts/9 innings were the 11th-most in Braves history. His 51.8% ground ball percentage was 3rd-highest in the NL, and he induced softly hit balls 20.0% of the time (5th).
As a batter, he hit .273/.322/.327. His batting average and on-base percentage led all pitchers, while his slugging percentage ranked second. He scored 7 runs (2nd), hit three doubles (2nd), and drove in 5 RBIs (6th) in 55 at bats, had the second-highest exit velocity of all pitchers (90.3 mph), had 8 sacrifice hit
In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...
s (8th of all players), and was called upon to pinch hit four times. On July 4, 2021, he had a pinch-hit, walk-off, single against the Miami Marlins.
On defense, Fried led the league in range factor/game as a pitcher (1.61), in assists as a pitcher for the third consecutive season (37), and in Defensive Runs Saved for the third season in a row (6). For the second consecutive season he tied for the major league lead in pickoffs (6).
In the three years in which Fried was a starter, from 2019 to 2021, he led all National League pitchers in wins (38), was tied for the lead in shutouts (2), was 2nd in the vertical movement of his curveball (−11.6 inches; batters hit .183/.218/.294 against it), and had the third-lowest barrels percentage in balls hit against him (5.0%). In those three years on offense he led NL pitchers in runs (18), doubles (7), on base percentage (.292), and WAR (1.3), was 2nd-lowest in strikeout percentage (25.8%), and third in batting average (.234), slugging percentage (.297), OPS (.589), and walks (9). In those three years on defense he led all NL pitchers in assists (86).
Fried won the final game of the 2021 World Series
The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the American League (AL) champion H ...
with six shutout innings against the Astros, who had led the majors in batting average and runs for the season, with Houston's three-time batting champion José Altuve
José Carlos Altuve (; born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Astros signed Altuve as an amateur free agent in 2007, and he made his major league debut ...
observing: "He was almost unhittable."
Fried won the 2021 NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher, winning the award for the second year in a row. He became the third Braves pitcher to win multiple Gold Glove Awards, joining Greg Maddux and Phil Niekro. Major League managers and coaches (voting only within their league, and unable to vote for players on their own team), account for 75% of the selection process, while the other 25 percent is a sabermetric component.
Fried also won the 2021 NL Silver Slugger Award for pitchers. The award was given to the top offensive player at pitcher in the NL, as determined by a vote by the manager and three coaches of each MLB team (and no manager/coach can vote for a player on his own team). Fried became the third MLB pitcher in history to win both the Silver Slugger Award and the Gold Glove Award in the same season, joining Mike Hampton
Michael William Hampton, Jr. (born September 9, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. Hampton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1993 through 2010. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, New ...
(2003) and Zack Greinke
Donald Zackary Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and has also played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los An ...
(2019). Fried was the final recipient of the Silver Slugger Award for pitchers, as the National League permanently implemented the designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
in 2022.
He was named a starter on the 2021 All-MLB Second Team, earning his second consecutive All-MLB selection.
Through 2021, of the Braves career leaders, Fried was second in win–loss percentage (.690; behind Russ Ortiz
Russell Reid Ortiz (born June 5, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Ortiz during his career played for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodger ...
and ahead of Greg Maddux).
2022: All Star and Gold Glove Award
Fried was named to his second straight Opening Day start in 2022. Fried's salary for the 2022 season was set at $6.85 million via arbitration. He was named to the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Do ...
roster at midseason.
For the season, Fried was 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA (3rd in the NL), in 30 starts in which he pitched 185.1 innings with 170 strikeouts. He gave up the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls in the NL (24.5%) and had the lowest barrel-percentage against (4.0%), was 2nd in fewest walks/9 innings (1.55), 3rd in strikeouts/walk (5.31) and fewest home runs/9 innings (0.58), 4th in ground ball percentage (51.2%), and tied for 5th in highest LOB (78.2%). His curveball had the highest vertical movement of those of all NL pitchers, the exit velocity of balls hit against him (86.2 mph) was the third-lowest in the NL, and batters swung at his pitches outside the strike zone 36.8% of the time, the fourth-highest rate in the NL.
In the four seasons from 2019 to 2022, he had the lowest barrel-percentage against (4.6%) of all major league pitchers, and his 52 wins were second in the major leagues only to the 56 wins of pitcher Gerrit Cole
Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team ...
. On defense, opponents have become hesitant to run on him. Since his major league debut in 2017, his 23 pickoffs lead major league baseball, with him having picked the runner off in 14.29% of his career pickoff attempts, a much higher percentage than the major league average of 1.6%.
Fried was named the 2022 NL Gold Glove Award winner at pitcher, his third straight Gold Glove Award. He became the first Braves pitcher since Greg Maddux to win three straight Gold Glove Awards. The only other pitchers who have won the award three times in a row have been Harvey Haddix
Harvey Haddix, Jr. (September 18, 1925 – January 8, 1994) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher and pitching coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1956), Philadelphia Phillies ...
, Bobby Shantz
Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a ...
, Bob Gibson
Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...
, Phil Niekro, and Zack Greinke
Donald Zackary Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and has also played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los An ...
. Fried finished second in the voting for the 2022 NL Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...
. It was the second time in three years he finished in the top five in Cy Young Award voting, as he had finished fifth in 2020. At the end of the 2022 season, Fried was selected to his third consecutive All-MLB team.
Scouting report
Fried throws a 94–96 mph four-seam fastball
A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is ca ...
. He also throws two types of a 74 mph "plus" curveball
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...
(which he patterned after that of Sandy Koufax
Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...
), an 84 mph slider
Slider or Sliders may refer to:
Arts
* K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise
* '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex
* ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series
* ...
(since 2019), a 93 mph sinker, and an 84 mph change-up
A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball.
The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...
, with the curveball resulting in the lowest batting average in 2021 (.160).
See also
* Atlanta Braves award winners and league leaders
This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Atlanta Braves professional baseball franchise, including its years in Boston (1871–1952) and Milwaukee (1953–1965). The awards are MLB-designated and other outside groups such as n ...
* List of baseball players who underwent Tommy John surgery
Tommy John surgery (TJS), known in medical practice as ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, is a surgical graft procedure in which the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from el ...
* List of Major League Baseball annual shutout leaders
The following is a list of annual leaders in shutouts in Major League Baseball (MLB). A shutout occurs when a single pitcher throws a complete game and does not allow the opposing team to score a single run.
Walter Johnson holds the career shut ...
* List of select Jewish Major League Baseball players
* List of World Series starting pitchers
The following is a chronological list of the starting pitchers for each World Series game contested in Major League Baseball.
Each pitcher's win–loss record for World Series starts, cumulative through the game in question, is listed when the s ...
References
External links
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Living people
1994 births
Arizona League Padres players
Atlanta Braves players
Baseball players from Santa Monica, California
Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games
Fort Wayne TinCaps players
Gold Glove Award winners
Gwinnett Braves players
Gwinnett Stripers players
Harvard-Westlake School alumni
Jewish American baseball players
Jewish Major League Baseball players
Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States
Maccabiah Games competitors by sport
Major League Baseball pitchers
Mississippi Braves players
Montclair College Preparatory School alumni
National League All-Stars
Rome Braves players
Silver Slugger Award winners
Peoria Javelinas players
21st-century American Jews