The Atlanta Braves have had a rocky season so far. With several of their stars coming into the year recovering from injuries, Atlanta dropped their first seven games.
Just as their season seemed to be lost, the Braves rallied and collected three separate three-game winning streaks in the weeks to follow. Still, the Braves find themselves treading water in a loaded National League East Division.
But life may soon get easier for manager Brian Snitker, as the Braves took to their X account to announce some reinforcements.
“The #Braves today reinstated RHP Spencer Strider from the injured list.”
Strider landed himself on the Injured List after a right-hamstring strain on April 21st. This injury is thankfully not a reaggravation of his elbow, in which he just completed his rehab process after having surgery.
A brief return
In his one-game return before suffering the hamstring injury, Strider reminded fans of just how dominant he can be. In five innings, he struck out five batters and walked just one. Overall, his outing was solid, allowing just two runs over his five innings of work.
But after missing almost all of the ‘24 season, the 26-year-old hopes to regain his dominant ‘23 form.
That season, he tossed 186.2 innings while allowing a 3.86 ERA. But what makes Strider so incredible is his ability to make hitters look foolish. That season, his K/9 was an outstanding 13.5, while he led the league with 281 strikeouts. He nearly became the first pitcher since 2019 to record 300 strikeouts in a single season.
His 20-5 record also led the league that season and helped him to place fourth in Cy Young voting.
Despite Strider’s absence last season, the Braves received a Cy Young season from off-season acquisition Chris Sale. Still, they were unable to make any meaningful noise in the playoffs and lost in the Wild Card round.
Strider will help a meddling rotation
The return of the former 4th-round pick to the Braves will help a rotation that currently ranks 11th in MLB with a 3.71 ERA. But perhaps most alarmingly, Atlanta has only gotten 262.1 innings out of their starters thus far, ranking third worst in the Majors. Atlanta’s rotation has also surrendered 37 homers to opposing hitters this season. A mark that ranks 23rd in all of baseball.
Unfortunately, in his very limited action this season, it appears Strider’s fastball velocity is down several MPH. In his 2023 breakout season, his fastball averaged 97.2 MPH, while he was clocked at just 95.4 MPH this season. While this isn’t a big enough sample size to raise concern, it is worth keeping an eye on.
After a horrid start to the season, the Braves have rebounded to find themselves at 24-23. But despite their hot streak, they remain five games back of the division-leading New York Mets, who are one of the best teams in baseball. If the Braves are going to close that gap, Strider will likely need to return to the Cy Young Caliber pitcher he was in the 2023 season. Also, the addition of fellow superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. wouldn’t hurt either.
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