Atlanta Braves: Max Fried Prepared to Lead the Charge in 2020 Debut

After a disappointing Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, Max  Fried looks to get them back on track against the New York Mets on Saturday.

Despite a brilliant effort by Mike Soroka on Opening Day, the Atlanta Braves weren’t able to get anything going on offense against the two-time Cy Young winner in Jacob deGrom.

And while you’d think it might be easier for the Braves on Saturday against Steven Matz, he’s actually owned the Atlanta Braves in his career going 6-2 against them with a 2.94 ERA in 13 starts with 60 strikeouts in 70.1 innings while only allowing 55 hits.

In order for the Braves to win this one, they’re going to need another masterful performance on the mound and Max Fried is up to the task.

Max Fried vs. New York Mets – Game 2

I already gave you the specifics for this matchup in our series preview, but I mainly just want to focus on Fried for a minute because there isn’t a player on this team I’m more excited to see in 2002 than him.

We’ve already seen what Fried is capable of in a small sample size as he was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball to start of the 2019 season with a 3.19 ERA through his first 62 innings.

And while he had a couple of rough months in the middle, he was actually really good down the stretch with a 3.65 ERA in the final two months of the regular season and his K/9 actually increased to 10.3.

Last season was by far the most innings Fried has thrown in his career — a career that was halted by Tommy John surgery in 2015.

Many don’t realize Fried is 26 years old because of the lack of mileage on his arm due to that surgery. He’s really just starting to get his feet wet.

And like the guy who shut down the Braves on Opening Day, he has the ability to put together a great career.

Jacob deGrom didn’t make his Major League debut until the age of 26 and that’s when he obviously took off.

Now, I’m not saying the two pitches are similar in any way other than it’s very possible for a starting pitcher to reach his peak late into his 20s and be at the top of the game.

That’s certainly the trajectory Fried is on and I believe he’s capable of reaching those heights.

Fried features a good, hard fastball that sits in the mid-90s and mixes that well with a Clayton Kershaw type curveball that many feel is one of the best in the game.

Last year he started throwing a slider and I think that helped take his game to another level.

And now with the help of Cole Hamels, he appears to be improving his change-up as well giving him a nasty four-pitch mix.

That, along with his maturity and having a full big league season under his belt, is why many think he’s destined to break out in this 2020 season and establish himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

We’ll see if he can start that campaign on Saturday against the Mets and follow-up what his top of the rotation mate did to that lineup on Opening Day.