Throughout the offseason, the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we debated whether the Dodgers are a dynasty. This week we're going to pick between two of the top free agent starters.
Which free agent starter would you rather sign: Max Fried or Blake Snell?
R.J. Anderson: Whichever one is willing to sign with my team. I guess if I had my druthers I would take Fried. I enjoy watching him more, and he doesn't have the same command-related crater risk. But I don't think you can go wrong either way, and I suspect they might have a similar financial outlook based on their ages and track records.
Matt Snyder: I suppose it depends on how much you like gambling. Sure, every big deal to a starting pitcher is a gamble in some way, but Snell has the higher ceiling and lower floor, as we've seen through his career with the two Cy Youngs and three full seasons with less than 1.5 WAR. Those high walk rates along with his filthy stuff means it's going to stay hit-or-miss with him. That means that Fried is the much safer option. His worst WAR season as a full-time starter is 2.6 and that was when he was held to 14 starts. If you asked who is more likely to win a Cy Young award moving forward, it might be Snell. Fried is more likely to make multiple All-Star teams, however, and a much more steady presence. I like gambling at times, but less so with southpaw pitchers in their 30s. Gimme the safe option in Fried.
Dayn Perry: Tough call. I love Snell's dominant upside and swing and miss, but it's hard for me to overlook his chronic command-and-control issues. Is Fried actually underrated these days? A career ERA+ of 140 is a pretty absurd figure across almost 900 innings. It's hard not to favor a two-time Cy Young winner like Snell, but I lean Fried by a nose thanks in large measure to his established excellence on the run-prevention front.
Mike Axisa: I'm a big Snell guy. When he's on, he's as good as any pitcher in the game, and he's gone on extended runs like that in each of the last two seasons. Snell is one of the game's premier bat-missers and has been for a long time. In this era dominated by home runs, missing bats is the name of the game. Fried is definitely the "safer" pick, and I put "safer" in quotes only because even the healthiest pitchers with the best-looking mechanics can get hurt. He's had some elbow stuff the last two years too. They're both very good, obviously, and will be paid handsomely this offseason. Force me to pick one and I'll go Snell. That level of strikeout-ability is rare among starting pitchers.