When Spencer Strider took the mound for the Atlanta Braves in Washington, it was the culmination of a lot of hard work and some brutal setbacks. Strider had a lengthy rehab from elbow surgery and only one start into his return, he had to go back on the injured list with a freak hamstring injury. Braves fans were understandably excited to see him starting again, but his first start back was anything but storybook.
Not only did Washington jump all over Strider immediately to put some runs on the board, but his stuff just didn't look particularly crisp or Strider-y. However, a closer look at his start shows more cause for optimism than fans may think.
Spencer Strider's first start wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as his line shows
The Nationals put three runs on Strider in the first inning, but a lot of the damage was on some ground balls that found holes and a weird flare double from Keibert Ruiz. There were some pretty hard struck balls, but a few of them were on pitches that Strider normally would be fine with hitters swinging at. Sometimes hitters get a little lucky and make a good swing on pitches out of the zone or pitches you would want guys to chase.
After that, Strider handled the Nationals pretty well other than a Dylan Crews solo homer on an elevated fastball that was admittedly crushed. He did get bailed out a bit by some truly horrid baserunning from CJ Abrams, but he pitched into the fifth inning when it became clear that he was on a pretty firm 75 pitch count.
So how concerned should Braves fans be about Strider? The short answer is basically none. He didn't have a rehab assignment coming off the hamstring injury and he has had one start this year before Tuesday night. Strider's velocity was a little bit down from what we are used to seeing from him, but he was still 95-96 mph his first start back which is more than fine.
It is going to take Strider two or three starts to get his legs under him and it may take a bit longer to see his velo really return. Now, if we get to July and he is the same pitcher as we saw in this first start, that could be a sign of trouble.