Max Fried takes the mound for the Atlanta Braves today on Opening Day for the 2023 season. Max very clearly needs no introduction as he has turned into a bona fide ace during his time with the Braves and is coming off a season where he finished second in the NL Cy Young vote. Look for Max to try and start his season off strong against a pretty awful (on paper) Nationals team.
Matchup with the Washington Nationals
This Nationals roster doesn't have much in the way of experience against Fried because, well, there are a lot of new faces on that team. One guy that does have have experience and a track record of success against Max is Victor Robles who also had a pretty strong spring. In 25 at-bats against Max, Robles is hitting .360. Also, keep an eye on CJ Abrams and Joey Menenses. Abrams was one of the top prospects in all of baseball when he got called up and he can really run and Menenses went on an all-World tear when he made his debut last year.
Patrick Corbin is taking the mound for Washington today and, umm, he hasn't been good for quite a while as his fWAR for the last three seasons COMBINED is 2.2 which is not what you want from a guy that signed a six year, $140 million contract that is backloaded. He does have his moments still, though, so this isn't a gimme. Fortunately, the Braves have several guys that are both quite familiar with and have had success against Corbin in their careers with Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia, and Austin Riley all having good numbers against him.
How to Watch/Follow the Atlanta Braves' Opening Day
Date/Time/Location: 3/30/23, 1:05 PM EST at Nationals Park
TV: Braves Feed - Bally Sports Southeast, Nationals Feed - MASN, National Feed - MLB Network
Radio: Braves - 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan, Nationals - WJFK 106.7 The Fan