New York Yankees Ace Dazzles Again After Receiving Pitcher of the Month Honor

Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees have spent years trying to add an elite pitcher to slot in behind ace Gerrit Cole in their starting rotation to no avail.

Previous attempts featured paying up for guys with the upside to reach the elite level but had plenty of question marks in Carlos Rodón and Marcus Stroman, both of whom have failed to provide a second top tier option for manager Aaron Boone behind Cole.

Cashman took a big swing this past offseason at solving the problem, landing Max Fried on a lucrative free agent contract.

Fried had spent his entire Major League career with the Atlanta Braves, establishing himself as one of the most reliably good arms in all of baseball.

Consistency has been the name of the game for Fried, who posted an ERA somewhere between 2.48 and 3.25 in his final four seasons in Atlanta.

So far, the signing has worked out better than anybody could have possibly predicted.

The draw back, of course, is that Fried is excelling in place of Cole and not in support of him, as the hard-throwing righty is sidelined for the entire season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Fried was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for March and April on Friday.

Later that night, he took the mound at Yankee Stadium and got right to work on repeating as the winner of the honor in May.

His first entry for the month featured seven innings of brilliance, as he allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out six Tampa Bay Rays as he led New York to a 3-0 win over its AL East division rival.

Fried now owns a 6-0 record with a phenomenal 1.01 ERA, both of which are the best in the American League.

He's striking out less than a batter per inning with 33 punchouts in 37.2 innings of work, but that's almost a good sign, as it means Fried isn't relying on a new wrinkle of his game that may fade away.

The California native has never been an overpowering strikeout artist, but rather his excellence in command and sequencing make him a miserable opponent on the mound for even the best hitters in the sport to square up.

What may be most encouraging about Fried's start to the season is that he's arrived in New York with the pressure not only of a massive free agent contract, but also with the added expectations that come with replacing Cole, and he has not blinked once.

Many excellent pitchers have not been able to handle the pressure and scrutiny that comes with performing in the Big Apple, but Fried, who was dominant for the Braves on the road against the Houston Astros to clinch the 2021 World Series, is clearly the type who can.