With the number seven overall pick in the 2012 amateur player draft, the San Diego Padres selected pitcher Max Fried from Harvard-Westlake High School in California. He is a 6′-4″, 180-pound left-handed pitcher with about as much upside as any pitcher in the draft.
He has a fastball that comfortably sits from 90-92 mph, and with the ability to reach back and touch 94, with the possibility to add velocity as he fills out. He has shot up the chart as of late and blown talent evaluators away during his workouts. He has a plus-breaking curveball, which many believe is the best in the entire draft class. He has an excellent frame, and athletic and repeatable mechanics that have scouts raving. He has impeccable command for his age, pounds the strike zone and has a great feel for the game. His delivery is fluid and somewhat deceptive with nice downward action on his pitches. He also throws a cutter, and he will throw any of his pitches, especially his plus-curveball, with the ability to throw them for strikes consistently. He throws a change-up that should be at least above-average moving forward with late downward action. He is a true swing-and-miss pitcher who can, at times, nit-pick instead of pitching to contact (where he is at his best) because of his true stuff. He is also known for having great poise on the mound, a bulldog competitor. Fried was 8-2 with a 2.02 ERA with an incredible 105 strikeouts to 29 walks, while allowing fewer hits (43) in 66 innings pitched during his senior season.
While I would have preferred to see the Padres get an upside bat like Carlos Correa or Alberto Almora, the Padres picked the most talented player left on the board, regardless of position.
To quote Jim Callis via his Twitter account, “Some directors told me he was best pitcher in draft, over all the college guys. Kershaw comparisons.”
