The New York Yankees are 21-16 and two games up on the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. It's been a solid start for the Bombers on offense, but their pitching staff has a lot of question marks. Max Fried is not one of them, as the Yankees' new ace is 6-0 in his eight starts, with the team winning all eight games.

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake spoke with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal about what has changed from Fried's time with the Atlanta Braves.

“Obviously, Atlanta has got a really strong pitching program. But they go about it in a little more traditional way,” Blake said. “He just was interested in exploring some of the data and tech that is available now. That’s what we’ve leaned in towards, just really understanding how the pitches are moving, why they’re moving, what his body is doing to make those pitches move.”

The Athletic's pitching expert Eno Sarris also weighed in on what has changed for Fried with the Yankees. He says that Fried's sinker, curveball, and changeup all have more drop. He has also been throwing sweepers more often, and his Stuff+ mix has improved dramatically. Blake has tapped into something with Fried that has saved the Yankees' season.

Yankees are afloat thanks to Max Fried

New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried (54) leaves a game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the eighth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
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When the Yankees signed Fried this offseason, the intention was to create an elite one-two punch with Gerrit Cole. But the righty did not make it out of spring training, injuring his elbow that needed Tommy John surgery that ended his season. That put a lot of pressure on Fried, who has lived up to the billing through eight starts.

In his first start, the Yankees' offense let Fried down, but the offense picked him up. He allowed six runs, only two earned, in 4.2 innings in a 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Since then, he has thrown 47 innings, allowing only four earned runs and picking up six wins. Without his starts, this would be a miserable beginning to the year in The Bronx. With Fried, they know they are getting greatness once every five days.

Fried leads all of baseball with eight starts, six wins, a 1.05 ERA, 51.2 innings pitched, and 381 ERA+. The Yankees have received miserable starts from Will Warren, just DFA-ed Carlos Carrasco, and have been without Marcus Stroman for a few weeks. Through it all, Fried has given the bullpen a rest and allowed the offense to flourish.