Max Fried will get his time in the spotlight.
The Braves promoted infielder Ozzie Albies and starter Lucas Sims on Tuesday. Now, in a more surprising move, the left-handed pitcher Fried joins the team, skipping Triple-A for the bigs.
The 23-year-old Fried will join the Braves’ bullpen for Saturday’s game against Miami, the team announced. Reliever Jason Hursh was optioned to Gwinnett.
Fried struggled earlier in the season with a blister. He had a 5.92 ERA in Double-A Mississippi before finding recent success throwing fewer innings. Since June 23, Fried hasn’t exceeded four innings in five starts. He’s pitched 10 consecutive scoreless frames.
He hasn’t given up a run in his past three games, none of which he threw more than 65 pitches. He’s allowed one home run in his past nine starts.
Fried’s fastball sits around the mid-90s. His repertoire also boasts a curveball and a change-up. He’s thrown 86 2/3 innings this season, so a bullpen role would keep that number down.
The Braves have aggressively promoted their prospects through the minors and haven’t strayed from that philosophy in the majors. Fried is the first Braves prospect to skip Triple-A since shortstop Dansby Swanson last season.
Fried impressed in spring training despite appearing in only three Grapefruit League games.
"Max served notice that he is not far away from helping us win games at the major league level," Braves general manager John Coppolella said at the time. "He was extremely impressive in every way this spring."
Fried was acquired from San Diego in the Justin Upton trade (2014).
