When the Yankees signed Max Fried, the idea was to pair him alongside Gerrit Cole, but that idea fell apart quickly after the news broke about a UCL tear, which ended his season prematurely.
The rotation was expected to be a massive issue for the Yankees, even with the addition of Max Fried, and it seriously jeapordized their chances of winning the division.
A team that hoped to still have title aspirations even after losing Juan Soto, their injuries in the rotation were perceived as a death blow.
Max Fried has instead stepped up to become the ace that this staff desperately needed, as he’s looked like the best pitcher in baseball and added another gem to his resume on Saturday.
How Max Fried Has Guided the Yankees to First Place
The Yankees introduced Max Fried to technology that he supposedly didn’t have access to in his time with Atlanta, as the left-hander has been outright remarkable with his new team.
His sinker has changed to have a one-seam grip, making it drop more and cause batters to swing over it more often, allowing his sinker to be a reliable in-zone weapon.
Fried is throwing his sinker 19.5% of the time this year compared to 16.6% of the time last year, and batters have seen their average against it decrease from .270 to .220 while their wOBA has decreased from .308 to .270.
Throwing an effective sinker with elite groundball rates has resulted in Fried getting outs earlier in the count, averaging just 15 pitches per inning.
Assuming Fried is built up for 90-100 pitches, this means he’s good to provide 6-7 innings of work every night.
Not only does that make him a better pitcher, going deeper into games and recording more outs, but it makes Aaron Boone’s job easier as he can tax his bullpen less and less.
READ MORE: Yankees nearly secured Juan Soto on December 11 — but a surprise twist changed everything
The Yankees are only 17th in innings pitched by their bullpen this season, leaving their bullpen fresh and only utilizing it when absolutely necessary.
Max Fried would likely have finished out his gem in Colorado had the team not had multiple lengthy innings that kept him on the bench for a while.
He has made throwing strikes and going deep into games a priority, going for his four-seamer more frequently to avoid walks and trusting his defense to convert an out if a ball is in play.
Fried also seems to be able to manipulate the shape of his four-seamer to either get more ride or cut depending on the situation, and it’s been one of the best four-seam fastballs in baseball.
With a +11 Run Value, only two other pitches have generated more Run Value this season (both of which are four-seamers), and that’s despite it not grading out extremely well on Stuff+ models.
The speed differentials and the way that Fried can dial it up to 97-98 MPH with tons of vertical movement if needed make it such a valuable weapon for him, as it’s more than just a straight heater.
When the Yankees signed Max Fried they knew they were getting a crafty left-hander, but his feel and ability to adapt to situations alongside elite-level command have led to a league-best 1.29 ERA across 70 innings.