Max Fried is Braves’ No. 2 starter, but back-end remains in flux

Max Fried will be the No. 2 pitcher in the Atlanta Braves’ rotation.

Max Fried now joins Mike Soroka in the top two of the Atlanta Braves‘ starting rotation.

Braves manager Brian Snitker announced earlier in the week Soroka would be the team’s ace pitcher throughout the shortened 60-game campaign. Soroka was named an MLB All-Star in his first full big league season with the club, as he finished as runner-up to New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso for NL Rookie of the Year and nearly cracked the top-five for NL Cy Young voting.

It doesn’t come as any surprise, as Snitker announced Sunday Fried would fill the No. 2 spot in the Atlanta rotation this year. Soroka and Fried were paired together to pitch in the first wave of simulated games to help gear up for the rapidly approaching season. What also comes as no shock is free-agent signee Cole Hamels won’t be ready to begin the shortened season with the Braves.

How will the Braves round out the rotation after Soroka and Fried?

Atlanta had been using the other tandem of Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb in their other round of simulated games. Foltynewicz was an All-Star for the Braves only two years ago. Even though he was on the mound for Worst Inning Ever, Atlanta is counting on him to bounce back and give the Braves several high-quality starts as their No. 3 pitcher. After that, it greats really dicey.

Newcomb will get another stab at being the rotation. At times, he performed well out of the bullpen. However, not being able to develop a third go-to pitcher after the fastball and curve has hurt his upward trajectory in the league. Newcomb will be on the Opening Day roster, but will that be as the No. 4 or No. 5 starter or will it be out of the bullpen?

With former Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez opting out of the 2020 MLS season and Hamels not being ready to go, that might force Kyle Wright into the starting rotation a tad earlier than expect. Wright was the former No. 5 overall pick by the Braves in the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft out of powerhouse Vanderbilt University. Hamels not being ready opens the door wide open for Wright.

Overall, Atlanta should have one of the better clubs in the National League again. The lineup is deep, powerful and versatile. The bullpen was rebuilt on the fly late last year by general manager Alex Anthopoulos. While the top-two spots of the Braves’ rotation looks solid, we’ve been presented with problems and offered with few solutions with spots No. 3 through No. 5.

Foltynewicz needs to join Soroka and Fried to form a great starting rotation trio for the Braves.