Atlanta Braves: Three takeaways from well-rounded win over Padres

Look out, world — Max Fried is here to stay

Right when you think you’ve seen enough to affirm belief in the Atlanta Braves left-hander, he turns out another gem of a performance, and you go back to the question of “How good can this kid be?” to modify the response to something of even higher aspirations.

He was certainly the shining star on the mound in the month of April, and he is carrying that into the month of May as well.

Max Fried’s latest gem was extra eye-catching on Wednesday night, as he shut down the San Diego Padres to a line of 7 innings pitched (a season-high), just one earned run, seven strikeouts, and zero walks.

Once again, he used his wide arsenal of pitch speed/movement to constantly keep the Padres hitters off-balance while forcing weak contact.

Furthermore, he’s proving lately with his ability to pound the strike zone and retire hitters quickly that he’s developing an economical side to his pitching.

Fried left Wednesday’s outing with just 85 pitches thrown over 7 innings and would’ve more than likely stayed in the game for the 8th had the game not been such a tight 2-1 affair that called for a pinch-hitter with a runner at third in the bottom of the 7th.

His game log for the year as a starter is highly impressive.:

• 6 starts, 36.1 innings pitched, 8 earned runs, and 33 strikeouts to just 5 walks.

In comparison to the rest of the National League, both his ERA (2.11) and WHIP (0.99) currently sit solidly inside the top ten among qualified starting pitchers.

Be warned, National League — Max Fried is here, and he’s not leaving anytime soon.