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Max Fried 2022 Player Outlook: Safe, Steady Fantasy Starter
3 years agoAtlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried had another solid season in 2021 and helped his team clinch a World Series title. The 28-year-old went 14-7 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 23.7% strikeout rate over 165 ⅔ innings pitched. He did miss a bit of time with a right hamstring injury and a blister on his pitcher hand, but things looked good for Fried overall. He mixed his four main pitches well and had good location on all of them. Consequently, his average launch angle was a respectable 6.1 degrees, his hard-hit rate was in the 82nd percentile of baseball, and he had a low WHIP. The only thing that wasn't quite as good was his strikeout rate, but that has never been an elite metric for him and he was still league average. Fried isn't the flashiest fantasy pitcher, but he shouldn't burn fantasy managers and should help in ERA, WHIP, and wins without hurting in strikeouts. The lefty is currently being drafted at about pick 72 overall, making him the 26th pitcher off the board. This ADP seems fine overall, although it would be reasonable to take him as high as 10 spots earlier, depending on whether or not fantasy managers are interested in a starter or reliever at that point in the draft.
