Has Spencer Strider earned the chance to start in Atlanta?

100-mph gas plus command has popped this Atlanta Braves phenom to the top of rotation conversations this Spring.

“He’s fearless.”

When Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked Kyle Wright about Spencer Strider, it seemed the breakout player seemingly couldn’t stop bragging about his Atlanta Braves teammate in an article posted by the AJC.

“It’s a 100-mph fastball and he says, ‘Here it is, see if you can hit it.’ So far, not too many people have.”

Matt Olson also chimed in, noting how tough Strider is to hit against.

“When you have to be ready for that kind of a heater, it makes the off-speed that much better,” said Olson. “Not only is he throwing good off-speed with the fastball, (but) he knows where it’s going and it’s got a good break. That whole combo of stuff, it’s a tough at-bat.”

In 16-2/3 innings pitched so far this season, the former fourth-round pick out of Clemson has put up some solid numbers, including a 2.16 ERA and a 13.0 K/9.

Strider has continued to develop and show signs of All-Star potential since his season debut on Opening Day against the Cincinnati Reds.

With that being said, here’s the verdict:

Spencer Strider deserves a chance to start in Atlanta

On May 6th against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Braves used Jesse Chavez as an opener in front of Strider.

In his four innings pitched against the Brew Crew, Strider allowed four hits and struck out eight, accumulating zero runs and not walking a batter. Strider was also efficient at staying in the strike zone (or making batters hit foul), with 50 of his 69 pitches being called strikes.

This season, Strider has had only one outing where he allowed two hits and two walks while allowing three earned runs against the Marlins. In this appearance, Strider couldn’t record an out and was credited with the loss.

If you removed Strider’s rough outing against Miami, here’s some key stats that change dramatically:

• 0.54 ERA (from 2.16 ERA)
• 0.84 WHIP (from 2.25 WHIP)
• 3.43 K/BB (from 2.50 K/BB)

Without this performance against the Marlins taken into account, Strider’s relief appearances have also only gotten more and more extended, with his longest outing being that outing vs. the Brewers last week when he pitched four innings.

One of the key things to note is that Strider’s arsenal showcases just three pitches, with distribution looking like this:

• 4-Seam Fastball: 69.3%
• Slider: 27.4%
• Changeup: 3.2%

Even with a fastball that averages 98.5 mph and a slider is whiffed on 42.9% of the time, the development of Strider’s arsenal would be key in making him among the elite pitchers in baseball and cementing a full-time starting role in the Braves’ rotation.

After Strider’s performance against the Brewers, Peter Moylan noted that Strider’s third pitch could be a point of concern.

“The only thing that concerns me at this stage, moving into the starting rotation, would be that third pitch,” said Moylan. “He’s gonna need that third pitch.”

However, this (limited) three-pitch arsenal has proved to work for him, as Strider ranks in the upper (or lower) percentile of multiple statistics:

• Fastball Velocity: 99th Percentile
• K%: 95th Percentile
• Whiff%: 84th Percentile
• Fastball Spin: 72nd Percentile
• Chase Rate: 67th Percentile
• Average exit velocity: 20th percentile
• BB%: 13th percentile

When looking at Strider’s performances, statistics and percentile rankings, it’s easy to see how he’s cemented him as one of the most exciting up-and-coming players in the major leagues this season.

Plus, he rocks one of the best ‘staches in baseball.

With a fifth starter role having yet to be completely established in the Braves rotation, it seems like the stars have aligned for Strider to step out of the bullpen and get a chance to fill that role for Atlanta.