'Fun to see': Fried shines in 1st mound session with Yankees

TAMPA, Fla. -- Max Fried believes he was about 12 or 13 years old when he first discovered the ability to make a baseball move like others couldn’t. Snapping nasty curveballs into the dirt, the left-hander was experiencing the infancy of what would develop into one of the Majors’ best show-stopping 12-to-6 waterfalls.

“Ever since I started throwing it, I’ve felt like I always had a pretty good one,” Fried said on Saturday. “Obviously, it’s evolved over the years; it’s not the exact same pitch that I had when I was that young, but for me, I’ve always had a feel or a knack for spinning the baseball. It’s more or less been a natural pitch.”

Fried showcased that hook during his first mound session at Yankees camp, prompting impressed glances from the left-hander’s new manager, coaches and teammates. Fried said the pitch was a gift from his self-described mentor, former Major League outfielder Reggie Smith, who tutored a young Fried at his baseball academy in Encino, Calif.

“He showed me a bunch of different grips, taught me how to throw it, and I’ve kind of been able to take it from there,” Fried said.

That’s for sure. Over his last five seasons with the Braves, Fried posted a 2.81 ERA across 112 starts, which ranks as the lowest mark by any Major League pitcher to toss at least 500 innings over that span, notching a 54-25 record with five complete games.

Since that time, he ranks second in winning percentage (.684) and home runs per nine innings (0.67), third in ground-ball percentage (54.5%), opponents’ slugging percentage (.330) and opponents’ OPS (.612), among other statistical proof of his excellence.

That performance earned Fried an eight-year, $218 million deal during the Winter Meetings in December, the largest contract ever issued to a left-handed pitcher and the fourth largest to date for any pitcher. The Yankees believe Fried will prove a worthy investment.

“He’s got such a large arsenal that, watching him as a hitter, it’s hard to get a bead on him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “His stuff’s really good, but it’s also the mix of pitches and the movement of pitches. He’s got a full arsenal. It’s been kind of fun to see it up close now, just how much all his pitches move. Ultimately, what he’s great at is staying off the barrel.”

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake has said he believes the club can help Fried, already a two-time All-Star during his time in Atlanta, register more strikeouts (he had 166 in 174 1/3 innings last year). Fried agrees, saying that there is “absolutely room for that.”

“At the end of the day, strikeouts come from consistent shapes of pitches in good locations,” Fried said. “So [they would come from] being able to be more consistent and throw pitches in the spots that I need to. But I also know that I’ve been able to have a lot of success getting weak contact and getting ground balls, understanding that’s who I am. … I’m not going to complain about striking out a couple more guys.”

If they are to achieve that, the Yanks won’t teach Fried any new pitches; he’s already got a seven-pitch mix to keep hitters guessing. But they might tinker with his usage -- last season with Atlanta, Fried leaned most heavily on his fastball (34%) and that knee-buckling curveball (21%), ahead of his two-seamer (16%) and changeup (14%).

“It’s too early to say,” Fried said. “For me, I don’t go in with a pre-plan of, ‘I’m going to throw this many pitches,’ or a percentage of them. The game dictates it. I’m always out there competing, throwing the best pitch that I feel like the situation calls for.”

While continuing to acclimate to his new surroundings, Fried has found a sounding board in ace Gerrit Cole. Despite tossing with opposite hands, there are similarities between the hurlers -- they’re both Southern California products who were first-round MLB Draft selections out of their respective high schools.

“I knew Max in passing from a couple of All-Star games, running by him,” Cole said. “So far, so good. I have nothing but positive things to say about what kind of person he is, and the attributes he brings from a talent perspective and a performance perspective.”

Fried had similar thoughts about Cole, praising his ace mentality and calling him “one of the best pitchers in the world, year in and year out.”

“He knows exactly what he needs to do to be successful, and he’s extremely knowledgeable and talented,” Fried said. “Just to be able to sit and watch him work and his routine, the way he goes about his preparation, I’m going to do as much as I can to soak up as much as I can.”