Optimism Building that Spencer Strider Can Bounce Back for Braves

Navigating the insanity that has ensued around the Atlanta Braves' starting rotation is going to take more than figuring out the best fifth starter. They're going to need their previously injured options confirmed to be in the rotation in full form.

Concerns surround Spencer Strider after his shaky return from, first, a UCL injury, followed by a hamstring injury. He had his moments, but his key pitches either weren't breaking quite the right way or were missing a certain zip.

For his first couple of seasons in the majors, a highlight of his arsenal was the punch he brought with his fastball. It's lost some of its juice, and he's looking to reharness some of it.

"His fastball is the game-changer, right?" manager Walt Weiss said on Tuesday. "It's a different fastball. It wasn't quite the same as when he came back last year. But that's not uncommon after missing time like he did."

What happens next for the Atlanta Braves? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Braves news delivered to your inbox daily!

Since then, he's had the chance to have a normal offseason. He didn't have to focus on getting healthy. He could just focus on his craft. He was able to take a step back and work on the process.

“I think the focus for me was mostly on optimal movement, mechanics, and fastball shape is a big one, which, that is a byproduct of that,” Strider said last week about his offseason 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."

Early in camp, that work isn't going unnoticed, at least when ramping up for live action.

"He's in a good place," Weiss added. "The ball's coming out really well; just watching some of the 'pens. So, I'm encouraged by where Spencer's at."

Before his injury, Strider was a 20-game winner who capped off his lone All-Star season with a fourth-place finish in the National League Cy Young voting. His fastball was the key to his success. Along with the velocity, it brought a certain movement that could give hitters fits.

"That's what makes his fastball different," Weiss said. "It just explodes about halfway to the plate, and the ball is usually above the bat when his fastball is right. And it looks like it's got that hop to it in the bullpens.

Weiss acknowledged that this is what he's seeing out of bullpen sessions in early February. We haven't even reached the spring training games yet. It's a long way to go before we know for sure.

For now, it's encouraing.

As for the velocity, Strider has been transparent about the fact that he didn't track it over the offseason. Since the focus was on lower-intensity workouts that allowed him to focus on other aspects of his game, the velocity had to take a back seat.

"I think velo is something that I’ve had, the ability to throw very hard. I’m not necessarily tracking it in the offseason because there is just not that much high-intensity throwing. I think there’s a cost for that."

The reality is, too, that as he gets older, that velocity is going to be harder to rely on. He's going to have to make do with what he has. Working on making his pitches more effective with their movements and even pitch locations is going to go a long way to giving him a long career.

That doesn't mean he can't regain some of that extra power that his fastball had in the past. As he gets stronger, he could add another mile or so per hour back on. That'll make more of a difference than you think.

Combine the work he's put in to refine his craft in other ways, combined with any potential velocity that could return, and he could prove to be the best version of himself yet.

Live action is a few days away. We'll start to get a better picture of how far he's progressed. The first start or two may not tell the story. Spring training means trying different things in live games that don't necessarily translate to solid numbers. Over time, as he gets prepared for the real thing, we'll start to have a better idea.

More From Atlanta Braves on SI