Friday player props, picks, and odds for MLB

Max Fried Struggles During Second Half of 2025 MLB Season

Max Fried has faced significant challenges in the latter part of the 2025 MLB season.

Since beginning his time with the Yankees, the left-handed pitcher has had a rough stretch, particularly over the past month and a half.

Fried’s performance has been marked by a lofty 6.80 ERA in his last eight starts, placing him among the least effective pitchers in baseball who have thrown at least 30 innings during that timeframe.

His recent outing against the Cardinals was, perhaps, the most disappointing of his time as a Yankee, as he gave up seven runs and eight hits, including two home runs, in five innings.

Interestingly, nothing seems outwardly amiss with Fried. It’s just that he hasn’t pitched at his usual caliber.

While his strikeout numbers have dipped somewhat, he’s seen a notable increase in walks, home runs allowed, and hits, which isn’t ideal.

Since July 1st, opposing batters have registered a hard-hit rate of 37.5% against him. That’s… not great.

This troubling trend has resulted in giving up an average of 10.76 hits per nine innings and a career-high of 1.32 home runs per nine innings.

Fried’s difficulties could have been mitigated if he could manage to avoid issuing free passes, but he has averaged 3.51 walks per nine innings, which adds to the strain.

Upcoming Challenges

It’s not exactly a pleasant situation. With the Yankees set to face their rivals, the Red Sox, on Friday night—who just secured a victory with six runs—things could get even trickier for him.