Now that the World Series is over, we are upon award season for the MLB. Finalists for all MLB awards were announced Monday night by the BBWAA, and the Braves were sure to have representation in at least few categories. One of the those categories was Cy Young, in which Max Fried was announced as a finalist for this award.
In 2022, Fried emerged as not only the Braves clear ace, but also as one of the best left-handed pitchers in baseball. His ERA and FIP both place at #1 amongst left-handed pitchers. In 2022, Fried finished with a 2.48 ERA and a 2.70 FIP, both which were the 3rd highest in the NL this past season. He also finished with a 5.0 fWAR, the fourth highest in the NL this season. This was Max Fried’s best season of his career, and will earn him his highest Cy Young finish ever, considering his highest Cy Young finish now was 5th in the shortened 2020 season.
Who are the other NL Cy Young candidates along with Max Fried?
Sandy Alcantara and Julio Urías were announced as the other two finalists for the award. Urías finished with the NL’s lowest ERA at 2.16, and Alcantara finished with a 2.28 ERA through 228.2 inning, the most in the MLB this year. While Alcantara was the favorite to win the award all year and still remains the favorite, there is a strong case for both Fried and Urías to win the award.
If Fried wins the award, he will be the fifth Braves pitcher to do it, and the last since Tom Glavine in 1998. A Cy Young win for Fried will not be his only honor this year, as he was already recognized as the Gold Glove winner for NL pitchers this year, his third straight year winning the award. Even if Fried is not chosen as the CY Young, being a finalist is still an impressive recognition of his fantastic year.
The Cy Young winners for both the NL and AL will be announced on November 16.