Braves' Spencer Strider: Already dominating this spring

Strider struck out four batters over two scoreless innings in his first Grapefruit League action of the spring Saturday against the Rays.

The right-hander allowed one hit and and one walk, and per David O'Brien of The Athletic, he was already hitting 98-99 mph with his fastball even though it isn't even March yet. Strider also incorporated the curveball he's been working on, throwing three of them and liking the results. "I think every time [the curve] was effective," Strider said after the start. "And it's a pitch that, similarly to the changeup, is an effective pitch any time I throw it, regardless of what the outcome is. Because my strengths are my fastball and my slider. So everything I'm doing is trying to help those pitches. And so that's how today was very educational, starting to see the sequencing and the feedback from hitters in a competitive environment." Strider threw his fastball and slider almost 93 percent of the time in 2023, and while that likely isn't going to change significantly this season, having another pitch he trusts in his repertoire could allow the 25-year-old ace to become the first pitcher to record 300 strikeouts in a season since Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander both reached that mark in 2019.