Braves May Not Get Old Spencer Strider Again...But That's OK

His first start of spring training was merely his first step toward becoming reinventing himself for a successful future with the Atlanta Braves

We've learned a thing or two about the Braves already | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Spencer Strider took the mound for the Atlanta Braves and provided the first showcase of what the new version of himself could look like.

Overall, he pitched two innings, allowed an earned run on two hits and punched out two batters. He threw 56% of his pitches for strikes. It's the first time seeing in-game action since September. He didn't dominate, but it's a good launching point.

"Felt everything was coming out of my hand right," Strider said on Saturday, via MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "Fastball's good. Curverball's good."

At first, his pitch mix was what we're used to seeing. It was heavy on the fastball and slider. For the first inning, it worked just fine. He had a perfect first inning on nine pitches. Then, we saw the learning curve kick in.

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After sitting down the first four batters he faced, he allowed a double, a single and a sac fly. Each ball in play came off the four-seamer. We slowly started to see more of the curveball and the changeup, and he ultimately escaped the inning with the lone run allowed.

Even if he's starting change things up, the goal is far from deemphasizing the fastball - quite the opposite. That's expected to remain the foundation of his success. Some of the life is coming back to it, but it's going to take time for him to adapt to the lower velocity.

"He had to kind of reinvent himself last year, a little bit," manager Walt Weiss said on Friday. "The secondary pitches got better. They had to last year, but it looks, to me, early on, when I've seen him throw the fastball's got that giddy up again. He's one of those guys that, even if it doesn't say 98, it's the way it plays up."

Even Strider knows he can't rely on blowing a fastball by hitters anymore. He said early in spring training that that focus too a back seat to other types of workouts.

“I’m trying to get some range of motion and certain things into a spot where I can move the way that I need to move to produce the shapes that I need to," Strider said earlier this month.

The goal now is to take advantage of the movement that still comes with his primary pitch. Find the right spots in the strike zone and mix in the breaking pitches where needed.

He'll have a few more starts in spring training to work toward this goal before getting to the regular season. But that just sets the foundation for him going forward. Even then, it's a never-ending job to be successful in the majors leagues. But that's a task he's up for.

"He puts a lot of work into this," Chris Sale said of Strider's efforts. "He takes care of himself as good as anybody I've ever played with. So, you know, happy for that but not surprised at all."

The Braves head back to North Port for a game against the Rays on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.