led all major league pitchers in assists for the second consecutive season (with 15), tied for the MLB lead in pickoffs (with 4; with his 9 in 2019–20 he was tops in major league baseball), and led all pitchers with five Defensive Runs Saved. Fried won the 2020 NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher. He became the fourth Braves pitcher to win the award, joining Mike Hampton, Greg Maddux, and Phil Niekro, and the first Braves player to win the award for a pitcher in 17 years. He also won the 2020 Fielding Bible Award at pitcher. The award honors the top fielder in the Major Leagues at pitcher. He came in fifth in voting for the 2020 NL Cy Young Award. He was named a starter on the 2020 All-MLB First Team. 2021: Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards, All-MLB Second Team Fried was the Braves' 2021 Opening Day starting pitcher. His first career complete game shutout was a Maddux, pitched against the Baltimore Orioles on August 20, 2021. Fried threw a second Maddux on September 24, while facing the San Diego Padres. His 1.76 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in the second half of the season were the best in the major leagues. He was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for September, after posting a 1.54 ERA. In the 2021 regular season, Fried was 14–7 with a 3.04 ERA (9th in the National League), and his 14 wins were 5th in the NL. In 28 starts he threw 2 shutouts (leading the league), as in 165.2 innings he averaged 7.5 hits, 0.8 home runs (3rd), and 2.2 walks per 9 innings, for a 1.087 WHIP. His 8.584 strikeouts/9 innings were the 11th-most in Braves history. His 51.8% ground ball percentage was 3rd-highest in the NL, and he induced softly hit balls 20.0% of the time (5th). As a batter, he hit .273/.322/.327. His batting average and on-base percentage led all pitchers, while his slugging percentage ranked second. He scored 7 runs (2nd), hit three doubles (2nd), and drove in 5 RBIs (6th) in 55 at bats, had the second-highest exit velocity of all pitchers (90.3 mph), had 8 sacrifice hits (8th of all players), and was called upon to pinch hit four times. On July 4, 2021, he had a pinch-hit, walk-off, single against the Miami Marlins. On defense, Fried led the league in range factor/game