Max Fried will start for Braves on Opening Day

No surprise, but the Atlanta Braves have officially announced that Max Fried will start on Opening Day Thursday against the Washington Nationals. This will be Fried’s third-straight Opening Day start.

Fried appeared in three games this spring and looked ready allowing just four hits over 11 1/3 scoreless innings. He issued four walks and struck out 14. He is coming off of arguably the best season of his career in 2022 where he finished second in Cy Young Award voting for the National League while posting a 2.48 ERA in a career-high 185 1/3 innings.

The remaining order of Atlanta’s rotation is unknown at this point. It is expected that Charlie Morton and Spencer Strider will follow Fried in some order. Kyle Wright is expected to start during the St. Louis series while rookies Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd appear to be the leading candidates to claim the fifth starter spot.