Spencer Strider had a brutally honest take on his struggles after surgery
Spencer Strider had a brutally honest take on his struggles after surgery
When Spencer Strider broke into the big leagues back in 2021 (and his subsequent rookie season in 2022), he quickly built a reputation as one of baseball's best pitchers by virtue of an electric four-seam fastball.
But Strider's career arc faced a serious obstacle when he suffered an elbow injury last season, forcing him to undergo internal-brace surgery — not to be confused with Tommy John, which he already had in college. Strider is back this season, and thus far, he has looked like a shell of the Cy Young Award candidate we watched in 2023.
Now, it was always going to be a work in progress, coming off elbow surgery. And that's been obvious in the significant drop in Strider's velocity. His rookie season, Strider's fastball averaged 98.2 mph. He harnessed that velocity a bit in 2023 with a 97.2 mph average, but was still able to hit triple digits when needed.
This season, Strider's fastball is at 95.2 mph — in the 68th percentile among big-league pitchers. And on Tuesday, we saw that fastball dip to as low as 93 mph. Sure, there are plenty of pitchers who are effective with 93-95 mph velo, but they aren't doing this:
And Strider is well aware that his approach needs to change as he can't beat hitters with his fastball velocity (at least for now). He offered reporters this brutally honest take after the Braves' 8-3 loss to Arizona where Strider allowed three home runs. Via MLB.com:
'Command without stuff is batting practice. That's about what I offered up today. I've got to be better, just to give us a chance.'
That's exactly what Strider has been doing post-surgery. He's allowing a league-worst average exit velocity of 94 mph. His whiff rate has cratered. And on top of the velocity drop, he hasn't been consistently commanding his secondary pitches. Just look at what Ketel Marte did to an 0-2 changeup Strider left over the plate.
Strider could get away with middle-middle fastballs and mistake pitches when he was throwing 100 mph. He simply can't do that right now.
Could the velocity slowly come back as he continues this season or with a full offseason? Sure, it's possible. But Strider very well may be looking at a situation where he needs to reinvent himself or risk falling out as a reliable starting pitcher, much less an ace.
He can't continue to approach batters like his 2023 self when the stuff isn't there. It's batting practice, like he said.
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