Max Fried

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 on May 7, Fried was hit on the left hand by a batted ball from Alex Verdugo. Fried avoided major injury, left the game, and 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 balls (53.6%), of all NL pitchers, and threw his Curveball 24.6% of the time (6th in the league). 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).

Fried began the 2018 season with the Mississippi Braves. After one game, he joined the Gwinnett Stripers. 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.

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. He was ranked as the Braves' No. 8 prospect overall by MLB.com. He was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 30. In July, MLB.com ranked him the #89 prospect in minor league baseball.

Fried was called up to the Atlanta Braves on August 5, 2017. He was called up straight from Class Double-A to the big leagues, without pitching in Triple-A. 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 of the Arizona Fall League, 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. 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.

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). Fried ended the season ranked by Baseball America as the 6th-best prospect in the South Atlantic League. 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 after the season.

In 2014, he was ranked the Padres' top pitching prospect, and their No. 2 prospect overall, by MLB.com. Fried was also ranked 53rd in Baseball America’s 2014 pre-season rankings. 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.

On December 19, 2014, the Padres traded Fried, Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, and Mallex Smith to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Justin Upton and Aaron Northcraft. Fried missed the entire 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

As a high school sophomore, with Ethan Katz as his pitching coach, he was 10–3 with a 1.81 earned run average (ERA), while batting .446 with four home runs and 40 RBIs, and was named the Olympic League MVP and to the All-California Interscholastic Federation (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 and batted .360 with four home runs and 30 RBIs. He was named the 2011 So Cal Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Male High School Athlete of The Year.

Fried throws a 94–96 mph fastball, two types of a "plus" Curveball (which he patterned after that of Sandy Koufax), and a change-up.

After Montclair Prep cut its baseball team and other extracurricular activities subsequent to his junior year, Fried transferred to Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, where he wore uniform # 32 in honor of Sandy Koufax. In his senior year in 2012 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.

The San Diego Padres selected Fried in the first round, with the seventh overall selection, of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. Baseball America rated him the top left-hander available in the draft, high school or college. Though Fried had committed to the UCLA Bruins baseball team, he chose instead to sign with the Padres for $3 million.

Fried made his professional debut for the Arizona League Padres 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 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.

For high school Fried first attended Montclair College Preparatory School, in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, where he played baseball, football, and basketball. In 2009, he was a member of the gold medal-winning 2009 Maccabiah Games Team USA Juniors baseball team.

Max Dorian Fried (/ˈ f r iː d / FREED ; born January 18, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He made his major league debut in 2017. His 17 wins in 2019 were 2nd-most in the National League.