Yankees' Max Fried pitched six shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out five against the Rangers on April 27. With that, Fried’s season ERA is now down to 2.09.

The 32-year-old now has 14 straight shutout innings across his last two starts. It started with his eight-inning performance at Fenway Park, where he surrendered just three hits and struck out a season-high nine Red Sox batters.

Max Fried holds a 4-1 record through the first month of the 2026 season and leads the American League in innings pitched with 47.1. His ERA ranks eighth in the league, and his 0.80 WHIP and 2.76 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) rank around the league's top ten.

Last time, when Fried's numbers were so favorable, he was the National League Cy Young runner-up in 2022. He posted a 14-7 record with a 2.48 ERA and 170 strikeouts over 185.1 innings.

While the season is far from over, his ERA is even better this time. In fact, Max Fried has consistently knocked on the door ever since.

Last year, Fried finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting after leading the majors with 19 wins. Fried racked up a 19-5 record and 2.86 ERA across 195.1 innings. However, Detroit’s Tarik Skubal won with a league-leading 2.21 ERA, 6.5 WAR (6.5), and 0.891 WHIP.

Max Fried’s immediate competition comes from inside

Fried’s Yankees teammate Cam Schlittler is among the early contenders for the AL Cy Young title. Schlittler currently leads the major league.

He has a 1.77 ERA, 1.7 WAR, and a league-leading 1.53 FIP ahead of Fried’s current stat line. In the absence of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, Schlittler has proved his place in the rotation.

He debuted last season against the Seattle Mariners, where he earned a win with triple-digit heat. He finished his rookie season with a 2.96 ERA, but it was his October performance that cemented his status.

In Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, Schlittler became the first pitcher in postseason history to throw eight scoreless innings with at least 12 strikeouts and zero walks.

Then again, there's a long way to go before the regular season ends.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi