Finally, the speculation can end.  With their first pick of the 2012 MLB Draft the San Diego Padres selected high school left hander Max Fried.

Fried is a Southern California native who was considered by many to be the top high school pitcher in the entire draft.

His arsenal is led by a fastball that sits in the upper 80s to lower 90s with arm-side run, but Fried has shown the ability to hit 95 at times when he needs it.  Fried’s changeup is a work in progress but some see it has his best offering in the future as he already shows great arm speed and more run than fade with the pitch.  Fried has a curveball that will sit in the mid-70s with sharp downward break that some evaluators see as a potential 70 pitch if he’s able to remain consistent with the offering.

As expected out of a top high school pitcher Fried’s feel for pitching is off the charts for his experience level.  That helps give him fringe-average current command and control.

Fried is a fantastic athlete and is able to work his 6’3” 170lb frame into a repeatable delivery.  That delivery is very quiet and very smooth.  Fried works a nice stride with solid toe drag into an on-line foot plant that allows his arm to keep up with his body and come through cleanly.  There is little effort shown in Fried’s delivery, which should allow Padres coaches to focus on refining his offerings rather than rebuilding his technique.

While Fried is a high schooler there is a prevalent notion that he can be a relatively fast mover in pro ball.  Fried pitched through the winter, led his high school team as the staff ace all season and pitched well into the state playoffs meaning that an aggressive pitching schedule in 2012 seems unlikely.

Fried, who turned 18 in January, went 8-2 with a 2.02 ERA and 105 strikeouts against 29 walks and 43 hits allowed in 66 innings during his senior season.

Fried has demonstrated that he is motivated to play professional baseball right away, even with his strong UCLA commitment so seeing him sign before the mid-July deadline is not out of the question.  Slot for this selection is $3 million.  Fried will likely seek the entire sum, but I would not be surprised to see learn the Padres negotiated him down to the $2.5 million range.

Here is our exclusive video of Fried:

One from Bullpen Banter:

And another from Bullpen Banter: