Max Fried looks ready for regular season, Ehire Adrianza red hot

Max Fried was impressive again on Sunday and has perhaps put him position to make his first Opening Day start for the Atlanta Braves when they begin the season up in Philadelphia. Fried looked the part against the Rays Sunday where he allowed three hits and one run over six innings to go along with five strikeouts. Tampa’s only run was a solo homer by Ryan Boldt in the third inning. Fried has now allowed just six hits and two runs over 10 innings this spring.

“Really good,” Brian Snitker said of Fried’s outing Sunday. “He had everything working. He mixed his breaking balls well I thought. Everything was just really good.”

Fried took another step forward for the Braves last season after Mike Soroka was lost for the season to an Achilles injury and the rest of the staff was hampered by injury and underperformance. While Atlanta tried to patch together a rotation, Fried was a model of consistency throughout the regular season and postseason.

“Anytime you can go out there and get six up and downs, just kind of get stretched out,” Fried said of Sunday’s start. “I definitely want to be able to be throwing the ball well going into the season.”

Following the game, Snitker was not willing to discuss the team’s plans for Opening Day. To this point of the spring, Charlie Morton looks like the only other reasonable option. Still, Fried says he is ready for whenever Snitker pencils him into pitch.

“Just excited for the regular season. Still have not been told really anything so whenever they told me to pitch, I’ll be ready.”

Ehire Adrianza keeping the pressure on

Ehire Adrianza added two more doubles Sunday and is now 6-for-6 with three doubles and a walk in his last three games. He is now hitting a crisp .478 on the spring with a 1.383 OPS. His hot streak couldn’t have come at a better time as he is making it hard to imagine leaving him off the Opening Day roster when they break camp in a little over a week.

Ryan Goins added two more hits Sunday and drove in a pair of runs. Pablo Sandoval was 0-for-1 against the Rays but picked up a sacrifice fly on a deep drive that would have been out of most ballparks. Jake Lamp drove home Atlanta’s first two runs Sunday with a single off lefty starter Ryan Yarbrough. Snitker said that Lamb is slated to be in the lineup at first base on Monday against Twins righty Jose Berrios.

Braves/Rays schedule “B” games for backfields

The Braves and Rays scheduled a “B” games on one of the backfields in Port Charlotte prior to Sunday’s game. Several of the players that participated in that game made their way over and got into Atlanta’s 11-1 win. Brian Snitker said that Sunday’s “B” game was the first of three that were recently scheduled.

It’s, for the minor league guys that have been here and some of the pitchers,” Snitker said. “We actually have three of them scheduled. “It’s perfect for both teams and it’s good to take advantage of this. Some of the guys can go there and play and then come over and be extras in our game too.”

Michael Harris hype continues to build.

Michael Harris checked into Sunday’s game late and went 0-for-1 at the plate while playing the last couple of innings in center field. Harris has been one of the most talked about prospects throughout the spring and has turned plenty of heads during his time in North Port.

“I think he’s a very advanced hitter for a young guy,” Snitker said of Harris. “This guy is an all-around player. He’s one of those guys that you’d say that is probably going to come quick.”

How quick remains to be seen and it will be interesting to see where the Braves choose to start him out when the minor league season gets underway. Harris tore up the Gulf Coast League hitting .349/.403/.514 in 31 games in 2019 before finishing the season with a 22-game stint at Rome.