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Max Fried 2023 Player Outlook: An Ace, If You Needed Any More Proof
It was just another rock-solid season for the Braves' lefty, posting career-bests (ignoring 2020) in ERA (2.48), WHIP (1.01), and K-BB% (18.8%). He once again did it with a strikeout rate that was around league average (23%), but the walk rate and the weak contact generated made that a non-issue. Fried has long lacked a dominant fastball, and that didn't change in 2023 (7.7% SwStr% on the fastball he threw 32.5% of the time), but all the other arrows in his quiver are sharp. He posted a great 16.6% SwStr% on the curve, a 13.9% mark on the slider, and a 19.9% on the changeup. The key ingredient here is that hitters just could not barrel up anything he offered (4.0% barrel rate overall, the fastball had the worst mark of just 5.4%). Fried is a proven stud in the league. The other thing keeping us away from drafting him confidently as a fantasy ace is if you play in a league where strikeout rate is a factor - because he's not going to help your team there. The ERA, WHIP, and wins are more than enough to cover for it even in that situation; this fantasy writer has nothing negative to say about Fried in 2023.
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