Top prospect Fried shut down with sore forearm

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Left-handed pitcher Max Fried, regarded by MLB.com as the top prospect in the Padres' Minor League system, will be shut down for two weeks with soreness in his left forearm.

Fried, the seventh-overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, had been expected to participate in the team's annual prospect minicamp, which began on Wednesday.

"He experienced some soreness during his offseason throwing," said San Diego general manager Josh Byrnes. "We examined him in San Diego and again in Peoria and have decided to shut down any throwing until the symptoms are completely resolved."

Fried, who turned 20 in January, has gone 6-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 136 1/3 professional innings, nearly all of them coming last year in his first full professional season with Class A Fort Wayne of the Midwest League.

Fried, who attended Harvard-Westlake High in Los Angeles, is expected to begin the season pitching in the Class A Advanced California League for Lake Elsinore.

Fried had an MRI exam in San Diego on Feb. 11 that showed no damage to his elbow ligament.