What did the Yankees learn in Max Fried’s Game 1 start of the wild-card round?
When you sign a three-time Gold Glove winner and World Series champion to an eight-year, $218 million agreement, you use him for everything he can offer in a postseason start.
The 6 ⅓ innings and 102 pitches he threw of shutout pitching wasn’t the extent of his battery life — and most knew that other than Aaron Boone.
Boone was lambasted by fans and media for his decision to bring Luke Weaver in during the seventh inning, and he instantly allowed two earned runs. The Yankees have a dubious relief staff that carried a 4.37 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, so it goes without saying that they need the most from their rotation (3.61 ERA) to forge another trip back to the World Series.
“I definitely exerted a lot of energy trying to get out of that, but I definitely had enough in the tank for whatever the team needed. But [Boone] was confident to be able to give the ball to [Luke Weaver] in that situation,” Fried said on Wednesday.
So has Boone learned his lesson about micromanaging his ace? We know Fried is worth the trust — especially against a Blue Jays team that swung at the fifth-highest clip per Statcast (48.9%).
Toronto led MLB with 400 hits with RISP, but Fried held hitters to .230 with men on second and/or third base.
It’s worth mentioning that the Jays whiffed less than any other team this season. They consistently hit pitches both in and outside the zone.
However, Fried’s speciality of inducing weak contact and drawing ground balls at an above-average rate should aid his durability considering the Jays are a considerably aggressive team early in counts.
This is especially so considering Fried’s dependence on his cutter, sinker and curveball while the Jays were tied for the third highest percentage in weak contact.
Fried wasn’t his sharpest in the four starts he pitched against the Blue Jays. A 4.07 ERA in 24 ⅓ innings isn’t the dominant splits to anchor your conviction, but here’s something that can: Fried cleared this line in three of those starts and 21-of-33 overall this season.
We’ve got the narrative and trends on our side, so let’s look for another deep start from the Yankees’ most reliable weapon.
THE PLAY: Max Fried Over 17.5 Outs (-154, DraftKings)
Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.