FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Max Fried looked right at home and in midseason form Tuesday afternoon at Hammond Stadium. The southpaw made his first Spring Training start of 2022 -- now 140 days removed from the last time he was on a big league mound when he toed the rubber to start Game 6 and helped the Braves clinch a World Series title.\n\nFried faced the minimum over three innings of work, did not allow a hit or a walk and struck out one batter on 25 pitches (17 strikes) en route to a 4-0 Braves win. The lone baserunner to reach came in the first when he nicked Twins leadoff man Byron Buxton, which was followed up by a 5-4-3 double play.\n\n“I’m just trying to keep \\[the momentum\\] going from last year,” Fried said after his start. “Just throw strikes, keep guys off-balance, and let the hitters work.
“I think right now, it’s all about just seeing where your stuff plays, and the only way you’re going to be able to find that out is if you throw the ball over the plate and challenge \\[the opponent\\]. I just want to throw strikes, challenge hitters, and if they do some damage off of me, I know I’ve got to make some adjustments. But this is the time to do that.”
The 28-year-old now entering his sixth Major League season served as the team’s MLB Players Association representative throughout the winter and said that, despite uncertain times just weeks ago, it’s good to be back to playing ball and facing off against other ball clubs leading into the regular season. He compared it to the situation players experienced in 2020, when competition prior to the regular season was limited. Fried even said the delayed start to camp was a way to continue to rejuvenate, as the Braves played deeper into the season last year than every other team save the Astros, their World Series opponent.\n\n“I think it definitely gave us a little more time to recover and heal up,” Fried said. “But, I’m kind of treating it the same way I did for the 2020 season, where it was kind of rushed upon us and we had to get ready.\n\n“It feels a little normal, just abbreviated. I’m just happy to finally be back and get the ball rolling.”\n\nEfficiency was the name of the game for Fried on Tuesday, who worked fast and had fastball velocity touching 96 mph. He worked a bullpen session following his outing due to his low pitch count.
“We wanted to get up to 45 pitches … just build up the capacity,” Fried said.
\n\nMax Fried, 96mph \uD83D\uDD25 pic.twitter.com/aPKHOcH8bp
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 22, 2022
Braves skipper Brian Snitker was matter-of-fact when talking about Fried’s outing: “I thought he was awesome. About as good as you can get really.”\n\nFried is poised to be the team’s Opening Day starter, a title he claimed last year and delivered on. In 2021, Fried tied for the National League lead in shutouts (two) and posted a 3.04 ERA over 28 starts totaling 165 2/3 innings. He won both the Silver Slugger (.273 batting average) and Gold Glove Awards last year and ended the year on a scorching pace, being named the NL Pitcher of the Month for September and closing out the season with 12 consecutive quality starts.
When asked about what’s next for Fried concerning milestones, Snitker said the sky’s the limit for the 6-foot-4 hurler.\n\n“Probably win a Cy Young. Continue to win more than he loses,” Snitker said. “Max is one of those guys that is never going to be satisfied. He is always looking at how to better himself and get an edge. He’s a very driven and competitive guy.”
\n\nA certain World Series Game 6 hero takes the mound for his spring training debut today. pic.twitter.com/xqBGkK1XQ0
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) March 22, 2022
As for Snitker’s approach to his pitching staff with a shortened spring schedule, he said, “It’s tough. We can throw them on the backfields if we need to split them to create innings, just like we do with position players to catch up on at-bats.\n\n“At some point in time, somebody’s going to have to pitch a Minor League game because we’re going to run out of games. The ups and downs are pretty much the biggest thing.”\n\n**Riley, others heading to arbitration** \nIt was announced on Tuesday that the Braves and third baseman Austin Riley could not come to an agreement before the 1 p.m. ET arbitration deadline and look to be heading towards a hearing. In 2021, Riley earned a Silver Slugger Award and batted .303 across 160 games, hitting 33 home runs and driving in 107.\n\nOther Braves set to head towards arbitration hearings include outfielder Adam Duvall, shortstop Dansby Swanson, and pitchers Fried and Luke Jackson.\n\nThe Braves announced on Tuesday that they had reached non-guaranteed contracts with relief pitchers