?Spencer Strider won 20 games in 2023, finished 4th in Cy Young voting, and led all of baseball with 281 punchouts. Yes, he was the losing pitcher in Game 4 of the NLDS, but maybe he’s using that as fuel for the 2024 season because the 25-year-old just put together an outstanding Spring Training.
Spencer Strider’s Dominant Spring Training Stats
Sure, Grapefruit League stats can be a bit deceiving, and you know what they say: Spring Training numbers don’t make the back of baseball cards, but sometimes, an impressive spring needs at least a look-see.
Strider concludes his dominant Grapefruit League season, tallying 35 strikeouts while allowing just two runs over 22 2/3 innings in six Spring Training starts. Braves Manager Brian Snitker also announced Strider will make his first career Opening Day start on Thursday in Philadelphia. Strider will frontman a strong Braves rotation that also includes Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Chris Sale, and Reynaldo Lopez (in order). That’s an impressive starting five, considering Fried, Morton, and Sale have all finished among the top three in Cy Young Award voting at different points in their respective careers.
Braves Manager Brian Snitker’s praise for Strider speaks volumes. He says Strider has “set the bar pretty high, and this spring has been no different,” as per MLB.com.“Just the way he goes about it and everything, I can’t say enough about him.” Strider’s 20-win season was the first of his young career and setting a modern-era franchise record with those 281 strikeouts in 2023. In fact, Strider has racked up the most strikeouts over the past two seasons, whiffing 483 to Gerrit Cole’s 479 — who ranks second.
Preview Of Strider’s Season?
As the 2024 campaign inches ever closer to Opening Day, Strider’s Spring Training stats are certainly eye-popping: In 6 starts, Strider went 3-1 with a minuscule 0.79 ERA, 35 strikeouts to 8 walks across 22.2 innings, 2 earned runs, and a .190 opponent average. Strider atop the rotation with Fried (in a contract year), the reliable Morton, and a potentially rejuvenated Sale could be a truly devastating rotation backed by a Braves lineup that is just as deep.
Regarding the Opening Day nod, Strider told MLB, “It’s an honor. We have a lot of guys who could have deserved to be the Opening Day starter. That’s what’s cool to me. It’s just where we are as a team.”
Main Photo Credits: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
