Strider is back this season, and thus far, he has looked like a shell of the Cy Young Award candidate we watched in 2023. Now, it was always going to be a work in progress, coming off elbow surgery.

Marte is now 5-for-11 with three home runs and a walk versus Strider in his career. “The 0-2 pitch to Marte was just a ridiculous mistake that I can’t make in an 0-2 count," Strider said.

Strider, though, noticed right away that Smith-Shawver was in pain and alerted the coaches in the dugout. The Phillies' broadcast picked up the entire exchange with video from the Braves' dugout.

In 2022, 120 of his 202 strikeouts came off the four-seamer; in 2023, 124 of 281 did. Strider can still be good if he's sitting at 95 mph, but he probably can't be the best pitcher in baseball.

May 19: The Braves announced this morning that Strider has been reinstated. Dodd was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move. May 18: The Braves optioned right-hander Bryce Elder to ...

Still, this is not out of the blue. Strider's fastball velocity averaged 95.4 MPH in his only start this season. Again, super small sample size, but also well below his 97.2 MPH average in 2023.

Strider was sharp in three minor league starts at Triple-A Gwinnett before his 2025 call-up, posting a 1.32 earned run average (ERA) with 27 strikeouts while allowing 11 base runners in 13.2 innings.

In 2023, Strider threw his four-seamer 58.9% of the time, the third-highest rate in MLB. That makes sense: His is a special pitch with elite carry from a low release height that makes it difficult ...

But it’s particularly more poignant for a hurler such as Strider who leans so heavily on his fastball. In 2023, Strider threw his four-seamer 58.9% of the time, the third-highest rate in MLB.

Braves pitcher Spencer Strider allowed two runs and five hits in five-plus innings vs. the Blue Jays in his first start in more than a year after having UCL surgery.

Spencer Strider returned to the mound for the Braves with a fiery 97.9 mph fastball and 13 strikeouts, but Atlanta trails 2–0 to the Blue Jays. Zach Lentz Apr 16, 2025 3:23 PM EDT In this story: ...

The bad news, from Strider's perspective at least, is that he may need to ease himself back into MLB play. He's been off the big-league mound for the past 376 days as he recovered from a UCL ...