Year later, Fried ready to make impact with Braves

ATLANTA -- Max Fried has been waiting.

One of baseball's top-50 prospect in 2013 when he was with the Padres, the left-hander's career was stalled by Tommy John surgery, and a trade to the Braves last winter only amplified his time on the back burner.

While so many of the pieces the organization acquired over the last year have made impacts -- or are poised to make one -- at the major league level, Fried has yet to throw a single pitch for the Braves.

But the key piece in the Justin Upton trade with San Diego on Dec. 19, 2014 is ready to make an impact and to test his surgically repaired elbow.

"I know I'm going to be showing up to Orlando a little bit early to just make sure all my bullpens are on schedule and putting myself in the best position to really succeed coming in and coming back," the 21-year-old said.

The seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft out of Los Angeles' Harvard-Westlake High School, Fried appeared in 10 games with a 3.57 ERA over 17 2/3 innings in rookie ball, then followed it up with a strong 2013 as he had an ERA of 3.49 over 118 2/3 innings in 23 starts at Class-A Fort Wayne.

But he was shut down in spring training in '14 with left forearm soreness, and after making five starts in Rookie ball and Class-A the problem arose again. He would undergo Tommy John surgery Aug. 20, 2014.

Had he not needed the procedure, it's unlikely the Braves could have acquired him in a package that included Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson and Mallex Smith. Before Tommy John, MLB.com listed Fried as San Diego's No. 2 prospect, and now he's part of an impressive collection of lefties in Atlanta's lower ranks, joining Sean Newcomb (No. 2 overall) and Kolby Allard (No. 6).

The Braves are going to play it cautious with Fried, who is expected to debut in April or May at Class-A Advanced Carolina, but Fried isn't concered about his destination, just that he's heading to spring training able to say something he was unable to in either of the past two season.

"Right now I'm looking to start throwing and break with a full-season team out of camp," he said.

His elbow has his kept him from a progression toward the majors that seemed a given two years ago, but while Fried has been in the background, he has been able to appreciate what the Braves are building.

At ninth overall, he is one of eight players in the organization's top-10 prospects that were acquired over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, Jace Peterson has already made an impact, appearing in 152 games last season, while Smith is expected to challenge for a spot on the 25-man roster.

"(This) was getting the best talent that they could down here and really developing it and building through the farm to eventually create something special," Fried said. "So right now it's just our job to work has hard as we can do kind of break in up there and do the best we can all together."

Fried is poised to join them, an opportunity that, in a Braves uniform, has been a year in the making.

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