Braves fans shouldn't overreact to Spencer Strider non-issue

Spencer Strider cleared what could be his final major hurdle before returning to the Atlanta Braves rotation, pitching four innings of a simulated game at Truist Park on Wednesday afternoon. The righty was slated to throw somewhere in the range of 70-75 pitches, with an eye toward being activated off the IL next week in Washington, DC, if all went well.

It seems like all certainly did: Strider made it through his outing without appearing to suffer any physical setbacks, and he even struck out the first three batters he faced.

You'd think that would be cause for celebration among Braves fans. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong, because the only thing anyone seemed to want to do was overreact to the velocity on Strider's fastball in a meaningless exhibition while working back from injury.

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Spencer Strider's velocity during sim game isn't something to worry about

To be clear: Strider's velocity wasn't bad. It just wasn't what we've grown accustomed to seeing: According to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, the righty sat 93-95 for most of his outing, maintaining that velocity through his fourth and final inning of work.

None of which should be cause for much of any alarm. Again, this is a simulated game; Strider has been on the shelf for almost a month now with a hamstring strain, and he's still just a year or so removed from last year's elbow surgery. In other words, he's going to need some time until he's fully unleashed, and there's no reason to expect him to be fully airing it out right now given where he's at in his build-up.

But did that stop Braves fans from panicking anyway? No, no it did not.

If Strider were hovering around 90 or 91, that would be conerning. But given the context here, sitting in the mid-90s is totally fine. No, it's not the vintage Strider the Braves will need if they want to make a real run at a World Series this season. But it's also still the middle of May, and Strider's season has barely even begun yet. He still has plenty of runway, and there's no reason to think that he won't be back to 97 or so in the dog days of summer once his arm is fully strengthened and he has his legs under him.

You can understand why Braves fans would be touchy when it comes to Strider and his velocity at this point, given his health issues of late and the way he's seemingly faded down the stretch in seasons past. But this is reading into something that simply isn't there; his velocity is entirely normal given where he is on his rehab journey, and we have a ways to go before Atlanta should be panicking.