A former Clemson hurler turned Atlanta Braves superstar is nearing his return to the mound in a Major League Baseball regular season game.

Spencer Strider was sensational in his third minor-league rehab start on Thursday, when he struck out 13 batters in 5.1 innings while allowing just one run on three hits and two walks in the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers’ win over the Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.

The flame-throwing righthander threw 62 of his 90 pitches for strikes, punched out the first six batters he faced, struck out 13 of 21 hitters overall, and maxed out around 97 miles per hour with his fastball.

After undergoing season-ending surgery last April to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Strider has started the 2025 season on the injured list (IL) and has been getting stretched out across his rehab starts, but he could activated from the IL and rejoin the Braves’ rotation as soon as next week.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said the team would decide on the next step for Strider based on how he felt following Thursday’s outing. He has been pitching on five days of rest during his rehab assignment, so the soonest he could pitch on that same time of rest is Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto.

“He got back out for the sixth, got his pitches,” Snitker said Thursday, via the Associated Press. “It was exactly what we wanted to happen.”

“I kind of feel like he’s right where we want him to be before he gets here,” Snitker added.

Strider has been nothing but dominant in his three rehab starts – striking out 27 batters while surrendering just two runs and five hits in 13.2 innings – and he certainly appears to be back to his pre-injury form.

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, and he finished fourth in the 2023 NL Cy Young voting.

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).

–Photo courtesy Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images