Braves give fans exactly what they want with Spencer Strider

Spencer Strider will make his first career start for the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.

By the time the Atlanta Braves get to Arizona, Spencer Strider will be getting ready to make his first career big-league start.

With a mustache that would make even Ron Burgundy jealous, Strider has quickly become a fan favorite throughout Braves Country. It is the simplistic, yet magnificent combination of upper lip facial hair dominance, coupled with a fastball faster than a bullet train that has everyone so hyped about him. While he was biding his time in the bullpen, he is going to punch out some snakes, y’all!

Strider will toe the rubber on Monday evening when Atlanta takes on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Spencer Strider will be making his first career start for the Atlanta Braves

Atlanta drafted Strider out of nearby Clemson in the fourth-round two summers ago. After making his big-league debut last year, Strider has been a mainstay on the Braves’ roster all season long. While he treats every inning like a closer, the Braves envision Strider being a starting pitcher for them in the end. With the No. 5 spot in the rotation up for grabs now, why not give him the rock?

Though this spot in the rotation will presumably go back to Mike Soroka once he makes his triumphant return sometime around the All-Star break, the fifth starter role has been a challenge for Atlanta. While the Braves have regularly gotten quality starts out of Max Fried, Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton on the mend, this fifth spot has been this rotation’s bugaboo.

Thus far this season, Strider has thrown 24.1 innings in 11 appearances for the 2022 Braves. This includes seven instances where he went two or more innings in a ballgame. With a 2.22 ERA and a proclivity for the punch out from the high heat, there is never a better time to insert Strider into the Atlanta rotation than when the Braves make their lone trip to the Valley of the Sun this year.

It may be sweltering in Phoenix already, but the heat will be getting turned up in Strider’s start.