ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried had an incredible 2020 and looks to carry that success into 2021.
He missed some action this spring due COVID-19 concerns, but will be ready to go before the start of the season.
Last week, The Associated Press reported that Braves manager Brian Snitker said Fried hadn't tested positive for the virus, but the team wasn't taking any chances.
In 2020, Fried went a perfect 7-0 and registered a 2.25 ERA across his 11 starts.
On the Locked On Braves podcast, host Dylan Short took a deep dive into what Fried needs to do this season in order for the Braves to be successful.
“Max Fried is one of the most electrifying pitchers in baseball. All you have to do is what his highlight film, watch that beautiful, nasty curve,” Short said.
“The Braves pitching rotation is going to be interesting and Max Fried is going to be the backbone of it. Yes, they have Charlie Morton, Drew Smyly and they are getting Mike Soroka back. But Max Fried is the guy on this staff. He showed it last year when he took the rotation on his back for a month. He basically threw up a Cy Young type of season while being the only member of the rotation that had any type of consistency," he added.
"I do think it hurt his overall numbers a bit because he had to make sure he could go for six or seven innings every outing. He had to go for quick outs which changes the approach," Short said.
Listen to the podcast below.
Locked On is a podcast network for local sports that produces daily podcasts about major professional sports leagues, as well as some college sports programs.