When the New York Yankees signed Max Fried to an eight-year deal worth $218 million this offseason, they were hoping to get an AL Cy Young contender. The former Braves star has lived up to expectations so far, registering a 1.42 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with seven walks and 30 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
Fried was highly impressive in his latest outing, where he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning. He departed the outing after 7.2 shutout frames with two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Despite this near-no-hitter, Fried was snubbed from the weekly Pitcher Power Rankings from MLB Network.
This was surprising because it’s a list that prioritizes current stats, so it doesn’t make much sense for Fried to be outside the top 10 given his numbers so far. After seeing this ranking, it is fair to wonder if Fried is one of the most underrated starting pitchers in MLB.
Fans Erupt After Max Fried Gets Snubbed From MLB Rankings List
This week, MLB Network’s Pitcher Power Rankings featured Paul Skenes, Garrett Crochet, Logan Webb, Tarik Skubal, Hunter Greene, Hunter Brown, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Nick Pivetta, Logan Gilbert, and Cole Ragans.
Thoughts on this week's pitcher power rankings? 📊 pic.twitter.com/SqvaqJ1uMO
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork)
While each of these pitchers is off to a strong start, it’s tough to justify leaving Fried off this list after he came so close to getting a no-hitter. The main reason to leave Fried out is likely his lack of strikeouts. Fried currently has a 22.7 K%, a number close to the league average. And while the strikeout rate is not flashy, Fried is still an innings-eater who can consistently generate weak contact.
No matter how he gets it done, Fried is one of the best pitchers in baseball and deserves a spot on that list.
It feels like Skenes is on this list purely due to his big name, as he hasn’t been as dominant this season. In five starts, he has posted a 2.87 ERA and 0.80 WHIP. Those numbers are good, but nowhere near Fried’s production.
Fried: AL Cy Young Contender?
With Gerrit Cole out for the season, Fried needs to carry the load for the Yankees’ starting rotation. If he can continue to provide elite ERA and WHIP, he will surely cement himself in the American League Cy Young race.
"Max Fried is a big part of why the Yankees are in first place."@robparkerMLBbro and BK go head-to-head on Max Fried's early case for the AL Cy Young Award.#MLBNowShowdown https://t.co/J6tLbLATXn pic.twitter.com/bgx1I2qx1s
— MLB Now (@MLBNow)
Needless to say, Fried has been able to live up to his hefty contract so far. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, but this has been huge for a Yankees rotation that is much thinner with Cole sidelined.