Former Clemson Hurler Spencer Strider Makes MLB Debut With Atlanta Braves
Spencer Strider has been on quite the journey over the past sixteen months.
Strider was called up by the Braves on Friday and made his big league debut and made his big league debut in Atlanta's 4-3 loss to the Mets on Friday night. The hard-throwing right-hander threw a complete inning in the seventh, allowing two hits, one of which was a solo home run.
However, the box score doesn't exactly tell the entire story. Strider threw a total of ten four-seam fastballs in the frame, each touching at least 98 mph on the radar gun. One reached 100 mph.
Strider's journey to the big leagues began when he was drafted by the Braves in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He began the season in low A ball, then quickly moved onto high A ball. He would go on to make stops at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, before being called up on Friday, when MLB teams were allowed to expand their rosters.
The right-hander pitcher spent three years at Clemson and in 2018 was named a freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and was an All ACC Freshman selection after posting a 5-2 record, with a 4.76 ERA in 22 appearances (six starts). He would miss all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery, before returning to pitch 12 innings in the Covis shortened 2020 season.
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