Strider Draws Super High Praise from Teammate, Cy Young Winner
By: Gavin Oliver March 19, 2025

Former Clemson pitcher Spencer Strider was stellar in his return to the mound on Monday.

The Atlanta Braves right-hander struck out six batters over 2.2 perfect innings in his 2025 spring debut — his first appearance since undergoing season-ending surgery last April to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

“That was good,” Strider said after Monday’s electric outing against the Boston Red Sox.

“It’s like a little reward sprinkled on the pathway, kind of. That’s how I view it,” he added. “It’s also just a good test for the work you’ve been doing.”

Strider threw 23 of his 27 pitches for strikes and punched out six of the eight batters he faced — including five straight strikeouts — with the other two outs being a groundout and a weak flyout in foul territory. His velocity and pitches were reminiscent of his pre-surgery dominance.

“To see command come with me, I felt like my command has been good,” he said. “To see the stuff, like the metrics on the pitches and stuff, movement. Velocity’s kind of the last piece to me. That’s definitely something I’d like to have a slow build with. But still, it seemed like the ball was getting on guys. I know it’s spring training, but definitely a good one.”

Strider will open the season on the injured list, as he still has get stretched out across multiple starts, but he’s currently expected to make his 2025 regular season debut in mid-to-late April.

Meanwhile, reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale will get the start for the Braves on Opening Day.

Sale spoke Monday about being named the Opening Day starter, and he made a major statement about Strider.

“Let’s not forget, he’s still the best pitcher on this team,” Sale said, via Braves Today: An Atlanta Braves Podcast.

“There’s no question about that. I mean, you look at the pure stuff and what he’s done when he’s healthy out there on the mound — he’s potentially the most electric pitcher in the entire game.”

That’s super high praise coming from Sale, the eight-time All-Star who won the Triple Crown in the National League last season with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

Prior to his season-ending injury last season, Strider led Major League Baseball in total strikeouts in 2023 with 281 while posting a 20-5 record, 3.86 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and allowing only 146 hits in 186.2 innings over 32 starts.

The 26-year-old, who was drafted by the Braves in the fourth round (No. 126 overall pick) of the 2020 draft, has a 32-10 record, 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 495 strikeouts in 329.2 innings across 67 career regular season games (54 starts).