“Centerpiece” Max Fried

Justin Upton has moved to San Diego for Max Fried, Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, and Mallex Smith. The centerpiece of the deal, according to media, is Fried, a left handed pitcher who was the #7 overall pick in the 2012 draft. So who exactly did the Braves get here?

Who is he?

The reports on Fried coming out of high school into the draft were that he could be a very fast mover. He was not a high-velocity guy, had good control, and he showed a lot of composure on the mound for a teenager. Fried was touted as having an incredible curveball and the type of polish that could allow him to move quickly to the major leagues. Max performed quite well in his first full season in the minor leagues at low-A ball. He worked well low in the zone with his cutter, changeup, and fastball, but he showed struggles with control of his curveball. This last summer, Fried succumbed to surgery on his elbow, which will restrict him for most, if not all, of 2015.

What can Braves fans expect?

Once Fried returns, he can really enjoy seeing his cutter and changeup progress. Both pitches were considered average in high school, but graded out as borderline elite and certainly above-average before his injury struggles. Most of Fried’s issues with control were with his curveball, which reportedly still had extensive break on it even with the control issues. Fried has shown good poise on the mound, even with his control issues on his best pitches. Fried’s work low in the zone will lead to some walks at lower levels, but as he gets higher in the minors and into the majors, umpires tend to call more pitches low in the zone. His work low in the zone has led to a very low home run rate for Fried in his minor league career, a stalwart 0.6 HR/9 rate.

Fans should expect a slow return in 2015 as Fried is still only 21 years old (technically 21 on January 18th of 2015), so the Braves will likely work him back slowly, but due to his polish and combination of pitches from the left side, he could rise quickly through the system once healthy, and it wouldn’t surprise this writer at all to see the former top-10 draft pick pitching for the Braves as soon as 2016.