Braves Briefing: Spencer Strider is ridiculous

The Atlanta Braves have several players that have had incredible starts to the 2023 season.

One of those is pitcher Spencer Strider. We discuss him, your first-place Atlanta Braves, and more on today's Braves Briefing.

Spencer Strider is atop MLB

Spencer Strider leads all of baseball with strikeouts. His 36 strikeouts this season are still three ahead of the closest man behind him: Pablo Lopez on the Twins has 33.

In the 22 innings that Strider has pitched for the Atlanta Braves, he has allowed just six runs to opposing lineups and has not recorded a loss this season. He's 2-0.

With Strider shouldering a larger load early this season due to an injury to Max Fried, he has been nothing short of remarkable. With Fried back from the IL, it should give Strider even more opportunities to succeed in Atlanta.

NL East Standings

The Atlanta Braves enjoyed a day off on Thursday and take on the defending champs Friday night.

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	14-5	-	Hosts Houston
NYM	13-7	1.5	@ San Francisco
Miami	10-9	4.0	@ Cleveland
Philadelphia	8-12	6.5	Hosts Colorado
Washington	5-13	8.5	@ Minnesota

We wrote it

Braves Today's Editor In Chief Lindsay Crosby wrote a mailbag article yesterday and was asked about Orlando Arcia's job security when he returns:

I think he'll get his shortstop job back when he returns. He put up 0.8 WAR in just eight games thanks not only to his above-average defense, but a stellar bat - he was batting .333/.400/.511 when going on the IL.
I think the most surprising aspect of Arcia's game has been the power. When he was a starter for the Brewers, he had some of the lowest slugging numbers in baseball, bottoming out at a .284 expected slugging in 2018.
This year, the actual number's at .511 and the expected (xSLG) figure is .443.
If Grissom's bat is hot when Arcia comes back (which, isn't a given, as our Will explained earlier today), I think you'll see Grissom work into the mix in the outfield. Austin Riley showed that spending part of a season in the outfield isn't going to hurt your development long-term, and it helps solve not only the positional logjam at shortstop but also helps with left field (and DH).

Check out the full mailbag.

Watch the Braves Today Podcast

A new episode dropped Friday morning with Crosby and Ben Taylor detailing everything that you need to know about your Atlanta Braves.

How to watch Atlanta vs Houston

The Braves will blast off with the Astros Friday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:20 ET. The Braves will toe the rubber with Bryce Elder and the ‘Stros will send up Hunter Brown. Braves Today will be the go-to site for everything a Braves fan would want to know before, during, and after the game. The game broadcast will be on Apple TV+. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on WIFN 1340 AM/103.7FM or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.