Atlanta Braves bullpen has a key piece in left-handed pitcher Max Fried

Young-ish Rookie Called Up To The Bullpen

Sometimes when a player is called up from the minor leagues, it is that hot prospect that everyone has been waiting for to make his debut.  Other times, it is questionable as to why the player was called up.  But for the Atlanta Braves, you never know who they’ll call up these days.

When it is a pitcher who is called up, a lot of the times the fans are waiting to see how many strikeouts he is going to have in his first game, or how fast his fastball will be as he pitches those strikes.

Most of the time, this pitcher is the one who could be considered your top pitching prospect and your future ace.

The Braves made a move in calling up one of their top prospects, left handing pitcher Max Fried.  But the starting pitcher will be mostly used out of the bullpen…for the time being.

Snitker Makes Right Move

The Braves made the move on August 5th, but it wasn’t until August 8th that we saw Fried on the mound.  We were all calling for him on social media and I guess Snitker must have been watching his timeline.

Fried is 23-years-old and was drafted out of High School in the 2012 MLB draft.  Being the No. 7 overall pick by the San Diego Padres in 2012, Fried has the skills to be a possible ace in this league.

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The Braves acquired Fried on December 19, 2014 from the Padres in exchange for Justin Upton and Aaron Northcraft.  In this trade, the Braves also received Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, and Mallex Smith.

The Braves are bringing him up now to get experience and I think it’s the right move.  He’ll pitch out of the bullpen to gain MLB experience for now and the hope is that he can be a starting pitcher in 2018.  He can gain experience in relief and learn from watching and throwing bullpen sessions.

Fried has struggled in the stats category and with injuries – sitting out the entire 2015 season after having Tommy John surgery.  Also, he’s struggled with having a blister this year that has ballooned his ERA over his first nineteen starts at Double-A Mississippi to 5.92 and a 2-11 record.

Don’t let those stats scare you, this kid can pitch and pitch really well.

Heck, Chipper Jones compared him to Cole Hamels…I’d take that any day of the week!

Last year he had a 3.93 ERA at Single-A Rome and in his last ten innings pitched this year, he has struck out nine and not allowed an earned run.

Fried took the mound on Tuesday night and showed off some of his stuff.  I was impressed by his composer on the mound, his hook from the left side, his windup, delivery, fastball…etc, etc — to say the least, I’m excited about this guy!

On Tuesday against the Phillies, he pitched two innings, gave up two hits, no runs, two walks and had one strikeout.

“It’s definitely been a long journey and a lot of obstacles,” Fried told the media.  “I couldn’t be happier to be here.”

Next: Do the Braves have an old or young roster?

“I was glad to see him,” Snitker said to the media.  “When you think back to the first Spring Training game, we brought him in against the Detroit.  He faced the heart of that lineup and did OK for himself.  It will be good to kind of get him in and let him get a taste of this to see what it is all about.”

If he is needed to start a game for the Braves, he can definitely do that.  I do see him starting a game before the 2017 season is over.  Fried could come in a spot starting situation for the Braves.

He just needs experience in the major leagues to become that ace (hopefully) for the Braves.  By getting Fried up to the big leagues now, the Braves could be sending out signals that next year, he is going to be considered a part of this rotation.