NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Even if Spencer Strider had remained healthy, it would have been difficult for him to maintain the ridiculous strikeout rate he produced during his first two full Major League seasons. But he might be an even better, or more complete, pitcher now that he’s had to deal with the adversity that followed his most recent right elbow surgery.
“I would agree with that,” Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “You get backed into a corner because you don't have the same stuff that you did before and you have to figure out a way. So that's a credit to Spencer and his willingness to try new things and try to figure out how to be the best version of himself to help the team win. Sometimes bad things or poor performance can lead you to be a better version of yourself.”
Strider provided another glimpse of who he might now be as he struck out five over four scoreless innings in a 5-3 win over the Rays on Wednesday afternoon. The Braves hurler didn’t overheat the radar gun like he had in the past. But he created further hope that a mid 90s fastball can be effective when mixed with his already-proven slider and his more recently added curveball, a pitch he didn’t have when he struck out nearly 40 percent of the batters he faced from 2022-23.
“When he got to us as a kid, his first time in the big leagues, he didn't really have a breaking ball,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He had a little slider, but then did some work. Now it's really good. And he got a curveball. He throws a changeup. He had to do those things to survive last year because he didn't have his fastball. Now the fastball is trending like it is, and you add the other stuff, it's exciting.”
Strider’s fastball might not be outwardly as exciting as it was when his four-seamer averaged 97.2 mph during his 281-strikeout season in 2023. He touched 96.7 mph against the Blue Jays on March 5 and he maxed out at 95.5 mph while averaging 94.8 mph with his four-seamer on Wednesday.
So, it’s not like he’s now a soft tosser. But the excitement stems from the strides Strider has made since missing nearly all of the 2024 season while recovering from a second major elbow surgery in five years. Yeah, the velocity is interesting. But the keyword has been fastball shape, which can be measured in a variety of ways, including via Induced Vertical Break.
When opponents had a 28.7 percent whiff rate against Strider’s four-seamer in 2023, his IVB was 18.4 inches. When this same pitch had just a 15.3 percent whiff rate last year, the IVB was 16.4 inches. That late life you saw from the heater in the past? There were essentially two inches less of it last year.
“He doesn't have to be the 2022 or ‘23 version of himself, mechanically or delivery-wise,” Hefner said. “But there are some signatures within that delivery that he's not doing now that if we get closer to that, I think we'll get closer to what he once was.”
Is that arm angle? Is it just the delivery?
“The arm angle is a product of everything that happens before, right?” Hefner said. “So, I tend to think more about making sure the beginning of the delivery is all good. Then, we see where the arm angle is. If you just try to fix the arm angle, you may not be fixing the root cause. So we're trying to go after the root cause and see if we can get a better version.”
When Strider led MLB with 483 strikeouts from 2022-23, his fastball and slider accounted for approximately 95 percent of his pitches. His changeup remains a seldom-used pitch that he uses to attack the outside part of the zone against lefties. Still, the potential value of the pitch was seen as the Rays whiffed with two of three swings against the pitch.
Strider added the curveball in 2024. Last year, he generated a 53.7 percent whiff rate with the pitch. This slower breaking ball should continue to be a good complement to the slider, which went from a 55.3 percent whiff rate in 2023 to a 48.3 percent whiff rate last year.
The Rays whiffed with five of 11 swings against the slider and with one of two swings against the curveball, which also generated two called strikes.
Strider may not have yet regained his bazooka arm. But he might end up being even more dangerous with his added weapons.
“I think everything is trending in a really good direction,” Strider said.