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The solution to fixing Max Fried’s early season struggles turns out to be a simple one. Just have him face the Marlins every time he toes the rubber. In Fried’s first start against the Fish, he went into the seventh inning and only allowed one run on four hits. Against everyone else, he’s yet to make it past the fifth inning and surrender fewer than three earned runs. Much of that is a testament to the anemic offense down in Miami, but it doesn’t matter if you’re facing a 15U travel ball squad, what Fried accomplished last night was a rarity that doesn’t come around often in today’s game.
The 30-year-old southpaw completed the third “Maddux” of his career, tossing nine innings of scoreless baseball in under 100 pitches. He only allowed three hits, as the game lasted less than two hours. It was one of the most impressive performances you’ll ever see, and it put Fried in a unique category of pitchers.
Per Baseball Reference, Max Fried is just the 41st pitcher in MLB history to record 3+ shutouts on fewer than 100 pitches, with Greg Maddux himself leading the way, who has 15, eight more than any other pitcher.
Max Fried tonight: 9 shutout IP on 92 pitches
He is the 41st pitcher in baseball history with 3+ shutouts on 100 pitches or less, with Greg Maddux having the most ever (15)#Braves ⎹ #MLB pic.twitter.com/oAXBiKNU4K
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) April 24, 2024
Only five pitchers in Major League Baseball history have had more than five such performances over their entire careers. Fried is already halfway to joining them, and what do you notice about the names in the top 10?
Every single one of them began their career before 2000, outside of Roy Halladay, who is one of the best pitchers to ever grace the planet. These kinds of performances have essentially been wiped clean from the game today because of the emphasis on velocity and strikeouts.
That’s what makes Max Fried so unique. He has velocity, capable of running it up to 98, and has an elite repertoire of secondary offerings. He can strike anybody out when needed, but this type of complete control is far more impressive than a barrage of strikeouts. This is when Max Fried is at his best, and this is the version of him the Braves are going to need the rest of the season with Spencer Strider out for the year.
More must-reads:
- Mets announce unexpected Opening Day starter
- Reds catcher to begin season on injured list
- The 'Most strikeouts for an MLB rookie pitcher since 1995' quiz
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Browns insider predicts trade with Giants, stunning QB move
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