Minor League Baseball

Atlanta Braves' Ace Spencer Strider Dominates in Triple-A, Could Be Ready For MLB Return

Pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday afternoon, the All-Star showed that he just might be ready to return to the big leagues for the first time in a year.
Brady Farkas|
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider (99) is greeted by his teammates after leaving the game against the Boston Red Sox during spring training at CoolToday Park on March 17.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider (99) is greeted by his teammates after leaving the game against the Boston Red Sox during spring training at CoolToday Park on March 17. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves

Pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday afternoon, Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider showed that he just might be ready to return to the big leagues for the first time in more than a year.

Strider is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in April of 2024. He made just two appearances last season. On Thursday, he struck out 13 of the 21 batters he faced, doing it all on 90 pitches.

An All-Star in 2023, Strider is 32-10 lifetime with a 3.47 ERA. One of the best strikeout artists in the game, he's fanned 495 batters in 329.2 career innings. When he comes back, he'll pair with Cy Young winner Chris Sale to make one of the top duos in baseball, but it's possible that Strider could be on an innings limit as he works back into the season.

The hard-throwing right-hander helped the Braves get to the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023. He had a 2.84 ERA in two postseason starts back in 2023 as the Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Unfortunately, Atlanta has gotten out to a dreadful start in 2025, going 2-9 through 11 games. They could certainly use Strider back, but they'll continue to do what is in his best long-term interest.

The Braves are back in action on Thursday night as they host the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. ET. Atlanta will visit the Tampa Bay Rays for a weekend set at Steinbrenner Field.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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