Spencer Strider is testing the limits of radar guns everywhere, reaching numbers that haven’t been seen in almost a decade and a half.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Spencer Strider hit triple digits throwing a baseball for the Atlanta Braves.
What you haven’t heard from Strider, or any other Major League pitcher since 2008 for that matter, is that he hit 102.4 MPH on a pitch.
ICYMI: Spencer Strider's 102.4 mph Fastball...the fastest Strike on record thrown by a Starting Pitcher since MLB started tracking velo in 2008. https://t.co/jBN2NfMALS
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 3, 2022
Strider, in his first season as a starter with the Braves (7 starts to date) has been up and down in the role, which shouldn’t be surprising considering he had a whopping total of 94 minor league innings under his belt before being called up late last season.
Overall, Strider is 4-2 with a 2.87 ERA with 90 strikeouts and 23 walks across 59.2 innings pitched for Atlanta.
Spencer Strider has hit his stride three years after Tommy John surgery
The strikeout and walk numbers equate to 13.6 strikeouts and 3.5 walks per nine innings and yes the walks are a bit high for a Major League pitcher.
That said, over his last two starts, covering 12 innings pitched, Strider has given up only six hits and one run while striking out 18 and walking 1, while throwing 65% strikes.
"The 6-foot Strider generates triple-digit heat with his fastball with a delivery that’s a mix of old school and new school — a traditional drop-and-drive move to the plate coupled with the short arm action that’s become popular with pitchers like Lucas Giolito and Shane Bieber. He’s hit 100 mph or faster 43 times this season, 31 as a reliever and 13 as a starter. His four-seamer is averaging 98.2 mph (98.6 as a reliever, 97.9 as a starter), making it the second-hardest fastball among pitchers who’ve thrown a comparable amount, behind Hunter Greene."
Strider, of course, pitched at Clemson in 2018 and 2020, missing the 2019 campaign due to Tommy John surgery.
At Clemson, Strider was 5-2 with a 4.71 ERA with 89 strikeouts and 38 walks in 63 innings pitched.
Those numbers mean post-Tommy John surgery Strider is giving up less hits, striking out more batters and walking less in MLB than he did in college.
At 23 years old, the fourth round pick in the 2020 MLB draft has the baseball world by the tail right now, as it’s an event each time he takes the hill.
The Braves signed Strider for $449,300 and he’s making $710,000 this season, which is an incredible value for everything Strider brings to the Braves each time he pitches.