We talked once–for a good 20 minutes–at the end of a low-A Lake County game. He was waiting for the fireworks to start. He was very nice. I was not aware at the time who he was until a couple of fellow graphers came over. He was very cool to everyone. When I got home I read up on him and was like…huh…he is kind of a big deal. I started following him after that.
Since that day he has been through a lot:
- By the end of the 2013 season, he was one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Baseball America had him the 53rd best prospect in the game.
- But in August 2014 he underwent Tommy John Surgery. Bummer.
- In December 2015 he was traded to the Braves, part of a package that included Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, and Mallex Smith, that netted the Padres Justin Upton and Aaron Northcraft.
Fried made the majors in 2017, but it was not until 2019 that he saw consistent time in the Braves rotation.
- This season he is 12-4 with a 4.07 ERA/1.374 WHIP/111 ERA+ over 114 innings.
He is only 25 years old, so it looks like he has a very nice future ahead of him.