Strider is working his way back from UCL surgery last April
Strider is working his way back from UCL surgery last April
The struggling Atlanta Braves may soon welcome one of their best players back from the injured list. Right-hander Spencer Strider struck out 13 batters in 5 ⅓ innings in his latest minor-league rehab start with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers on Thursday afternoon. Strider allowed one run and threw 90 pitches in a 6-1 win over the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles).
Strider has surrendered two runs and struck out 27 batters in 13 ⅔ innings in three rehab starts while gradually building up his pitch count. Here are Thursday’s 13 strikeouts:
According to Statcast, Strider’s fastball sat 95.3 mph and topped out at 97.3 mph Thursday. That is down two ticks from the 97.2 mph his fastball averaged in 2023, his last fully healthy season, though it is not a worrisome velocity loss. Strider is essentially in spring training mode and still building arm strength. Besides, a fastball that averages 95 mph is plenty good.
Strider had his UCL repaired last April with the internal brace procedure. That is an alternative to Tommy John surgery that can be used to repair certain partial tears of the ligament. The internal brace procedure typically comes with a shorter rehab than full blown Tommy John surgery. This was Strider’s second UCL repair, as he had Tommy John surgery in college in 2019.
Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters, including 929 The Game, the team will see how Strider feels following Thursday’s start, then make a decision about the next step. It’s possible Thursday’s game was his final rehab start and he’ll rejoin the Braves next week. The earliest Strider could pitch next on normal rest is Tuesday in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
“He got back out for the sixth, got his pitches. It was exactly what we wanted to happen,” Snitker said Thursday (via the Associated Press). “… I kind of feel like he’s right where we want him to be before he gets here.”
The Braves lost righty Reynaldo López for at least 12 weeks and likely longer following arthroscopic shoulder surgery. They’re currently leaning on Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, and AJ Smith-Shawver behind Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach in the rotation. Elder is most likely to lose his rotation spot once Strider returns, whenever that is.
Strider, 26, was simply one of the best pitchers in baseball before last year’s elbow surgery. He pitched to a 3.36 ERA with 483 strikeouts in 318 ⅓ innings from 2022-23, and finished fourth in the 2023 NL Cy Young voting. Those 483 strikeouts led baseball those two seasons even though Strider ranked 36th in innings pitched.
In addition to Strider, the Braves are eagerly awaiting the return of 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., who they hope will soon be cleared to ramp up his rehab following last year’s ACL surgery. Acuña has been hitting the last few weeks. For him, the next step is cutting the bases and things like that. Acuña is still several weeks away from coming off the injured list.
Atlanta enters play Thursday in last place in the NL East at 2-9. Their biggest issue is offense. The Braves simply can not score. They’re averaging only 3.09 runs per game, second fewest in baseball, and they scored 10 of their 34 runs in one of their two wins. Seven times in 11 games they’ve scored three runs or fewer. There’s still plenty of season left though and they’re still in the mix in the NL East (+350, per Caesars).