Atlanta -- Spencer Strider would have loved to have started the season within Atlanta’s starting rotation. But the great strides he has made over the past couple of weeks create reason to wonder if the left oblique strain he suffered late in Spring Training was a blessing in disguise.
Strider produced yet another strong Minor League rehab start as he recorded seven strikeouts over five-plus innings in Triple-A Gwinnett's 10-5 loss against Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon at Gwinnett Field. The 2023 All-Star pitcher ended his 82-pitch effort by walking Christopher Morel to begin the sixth.
Will Strider need another rehab start?
“You’re talking about 80 pitches,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said ahead of Strider’s outing. “You’re starting to get in the neighborhood now. A lot of it depends on how he responds to that workload.”
Strider has made three rehab starts since straining his left oblique muscle near the end of Spring Training. If he is activated later this week, he would be in line to make his season debut during the upcoming weekend series against the Rockies at Coors Field.
Jacksonville scored just one run while Strider was on the mound -- though Morel would eventually come around to score after Strider was replaced. Matthew Etzel doubled, stole third base and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth. The Braves hurler limited this same Jumbo Shrimp lineup to one hit over 4 1/3 scoreless innings on Tuesday while recording eight strikeouts.
Strider’s four-seamer touched 96.9 mph and averaged 95.2 mph during Sunday’s outing. This same pitch touched 98.1 mph and averaged 95.9 mph on Tuesday. The slight drop is understandable as his body gets used to pitching once every five days again. Plus, he threw an additional 17 pitches in this outing.
Another encouraging sign was Strider’s induced vertical break, which averaged 17 inches. It was over 18 inches on Tuesday. That’s closer to where it was when the right-hander recorded a Major League-high 483 strikeouts from 2022-23.
When Strider struggled while returning from elbow surgery last year, his IVB averaged 16 inches, while he averaged 17.7 inches in 2022 and 18.4 in 2023. This metric measures a fastball’s late life.