Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Strider Joins Cy Young Winners With Historic Spring Training Dominance
Spring Training results are not considered to be predictive of regular season production, but Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider has joined some notable company with his dominance in the Grapefruit League thus far.
Strider made his fifth start of the spring on Sunday, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles. Through the 18.2 innings he's pitched across his five appearances, the 25-year-old right-hander has yet to allow a single run, boasting a 0.964 WHIP and 29 strikeouts along the way.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, only two others pitchers have thrown that many innings in an entire Spring Training without giving up a run since at least 2006.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was the last to accomplish the feat, doing so in 2018. Injuries cost him most of May and June that season, meaning he didn't make the All-Star Game or earn Cy Young votes, but he still posted a 2.73 ERA and 1.041 WHIP.
Before Kershaw, Justin Verlander had a similarly dominant Spring Training with the Detroit Tigers in 2014. Verlander wound up with the second-worst ERA of his career that season at 4.54, though.
Still, Kershaw and Verlander have combined for 19 All-Star appearances and six Cy Young Awards over the years, so joining them on any list is quite the accomplishment. Should Strider make one final start in Spring Training, history would be on the line, despite the win-loss column in the Grapefruit League standings not meaning much.
Strider placed second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, then made his first All-Star Game and placed fourth in NL Cy Young voting in 2023. He led the National League with 20 wins, 281 strikeouts, 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 2.85 FIP last season.
Through his first 65 MLB appearances, Strider is 32-10 with a 3.37 ERA, 1.054 WHIP, 483 strikeouts, 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 7.1 WAR.
Strider may have a Cy Young in his future with that kind of production, especially given how similar his spring has been to a few of the award's most regular modern honorees.
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