4/13 UPDATE: It's not yet officially official, but it may as well be: Strider is set to start Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Atlanta hasn't named a starter, currently listing that spot in the rotation as "TBA," but that almost certainly means Strider given that Wednesday would keep him on his current throwing schedule.
And not a moment too soon: The Braves enter Sunday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at just 4-10, a full five games back of the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. There's still plenty of baseball left, but with a slumping offense and rotation questions behind Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta desperately needs Strider to hit the ground running.
The Atlanta Braves have struggled out of the gate this season, but after taking two of three against the first-place Philadelphia Phillies this week, things are looking up. Alex Anthopoulos still has plenty of holes to plug, but as Brian Snitker never fails to remind us, help is on the way.
Spencer Strider is due back soon after a string of rehab starts for the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. His last start was an absolute gem. The hard-throwing righty went 5.1 innings, striking out 13 of 21 batters faced. He allowed three hits, two walks and one earned run on 90 pitches.
Strider missed all but two starts last season after suffering an elbow injury, which led to Tommy John surgery. Atlanta was able to paper over the 26-year-old's absence behind a Cy Young campaign from Chris Sale, but this season, Strider's importance is magnified.
The Braves let Max Fried and Charlie Morton walk in free agency and made little effort to replace them. Now, Reynaldo López is on the IL with a shoulder issue. Sale continues to shove, and Specer Schwellenbach has been lights-out to date, but Atlanta's rotation is otherwise in shambles. Strider's return should help a lot.
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When is Spencer Strider expected to debut for the Braves this season?
Strider will travel with the big-league squad to throw a side session on Sunday, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman. He predicts an MLB season debut for Strider next Wednesday, on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays.
What can we expect from Strider upon his return? That much is less clear. He pitched fairly deep into these rehab starts, but I'd expect the Braves to proceed with caution and keep their All-Star on a pitch count early.
As for what his stuff looks like, 13 strikeouts against 21 batters speaks for itself. Even in Triple-A. Strider's velocity sat well below his career average in the latter stages of Thursday's outing with Gwinnett, but he was still missing bats. Strider's fastball moves, as does that slipping slider of his, so he shouldn't have too much trouble for the big-league squad, even as his arm warms up.
More importantly, Strider can't possibly be worse than the options currently available to Atlanta. We don't need to see more of AJ Smith-Shawver this season. Whatever promise the 22-year-old holds, he is not ready to translate it into MLB success. The command isn't there. Bryce Elder tends to function as a below-average MLB starter, too. The Braves need depth in the worst of ways. Even half-speed Strider is going to provide a noticeable boost.
In 2023, his last healthy season, Strider posted a 3.86 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, logging an MLB-best 281 strikeouts in 186.2 innings. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. Yeah, the Braves will benefit from having this guy around.