Braves Spencer Strider Strong in First Rehab Start

The Atlanta Braves all-star arm had another promising performance in his first rehab start

The Braves starter was more than effective in his first rehab outing | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider put on a strong showing in his rehab start with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. 

He pitched three innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out six. Strider threw 60 pitches, with 41 of them being for strikes (68%). 

The lone run came on an RBI double in his first inning of work. He settled in after that to pitch to scoreless innings. No baserunner got past second base following the RBI double and only one baserunner got that far. 

The 2023 All-Star stretched himself out a bit further to start the season and bounced back from a rough final start in Spring Training. Ahead of his rehab assignment, he was projected to make three starts with Triple-A Gwinnett before the Braves rotation. 

If all goes as it should, he should be back in starting rotation by the end of April. That has him back just over one year after he went down. 

Strider is finishing up his recovery from a UCL injury he suffered two starts into last season. He didn’t require Tommy John surgery, but he had a brace put into his right elbow. 

He progressed enough to see live action during Spring Training. One start was, by definition, perfect. He retired all eight Boston Red Sox batters he faced and struck out six of them. His start against the Baltimore Orioles didn’t go as smoothly. He allowed three runs, two earned, one two hits and one walk while striking out four. 

In 32 starts during his last full season, he finished with a 3.86 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and a 109 ERA+ in 186 2/3 innings. He led the National League in strikeouts with 281. This earned him an All-Star appearance, and he finished fourth in the Cy Young Award voting. 

Once he’s back, FanGraphs has projected that you will see Strider be one of the top arms in the rotation.  He is projected to finish with a 9-5 record, a 3.19 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 129 innings pitched, a 1.10 WHIP, a 3.2 WAR and a 3.05 FIP.