Spencer

Strider

It wasn’t pretty, but Strider got the job done. There were not many clean innings as the command of his secondaries were not sharp. That’s a problem because Strider’s fastball remains an issue. Without the elite velocity or shape of yesteryear, that fastball doesn’t miss many bats anymore and forced a grand total of zero swings-and-misses in this one. He’s gotten by with his slider plus curveball and changeup especially against left-handed batters – and the Pirates’ lineup was nearly all lefties in this one – they just weren’t as sharp here. Strider will take a 4.00 ERA, 43 strikeouts, and 19 walks over 36 innings pitched into his next scheduled start against the Mets on the road.

Strider struck out eight, but the Reds managed single runs off him in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings. It’s the third straight outing in which Strider has allowed exactly three earned runs. However, that was the product of five homers allowed over his previous two starts. There were no homers today, just singles and doubles. He’s 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA, and he’s due to face the Pirates next.

Strider gave up homers to Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela to start the top of the first, but he allowed just one more hit the rest of the way. He stayed in to start the sixth with a 5-2 lead, only to be pulled after a leadoff walk to Wilyer Abreu. Abreu later came around to score. Strider finished up with five strikeouts and 11 whiffs. He’s 3-0 with a 3.46 ERA since returning from a strained oblique, and the Braves have won all five of his starts. He’ll face the Reds on Sunday.

Strider racked up nine strikeouts on the evening while issuing two free passes. All of the damage done against him came via the long ball, with Kyle Stowers belting a pair of solo home runs and Owen Caissie adding another. The 27-year-old righty generated 15 swings and misses on 100 pitches in the contest — six of those on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 32 percent. Now 2-0 on the season, he’ll look to keep the good times rolling as he carries a 3.00 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 27/12 K/BB ratio (21 innings) into Wednesday’s tilt against the Red Sox in Boston.

Strider got a pickoff in the first inning and caught stealing in the fourth and fifth inning to aid the cause tonight. He walked three and struck out just four, even though he generated 16 missed swings tonight. Opposing starter Connelly Early had six strikeouts and eight whiffs, by way of comparison. In three starts since returning from an oblique strain, Strider has a 2.45 ERA and an 18/10 K/BB in 14 2/3 innings. He’ll pitch in Miami next time out.

Strider struck out eight and walked two with his fastball velocity up 1.8 mph from his season debut against the Rockies on Sunday. That’s pretty exciting, but it’s still worth wondering why his stuff was so much better tonight than it was six days ago. Anticipating consistency from Strider seems like a bad idea, but it’s nice to know that he has performances like tonight in him. His next start figures to come at home against the Red Sox.

Strider struck out six, but control was an unusually big issue for him in Coors Field. Also discouraging was that he averaged only 94.6 mph with his fastball, down from 95.5 mph in his two Triple-A starts. 95.5 mph was also what he averaged last year, and that was down about two mph from where he was pre-surgery. We were growing a little more optimistic about Strider based on his minor league performances, but this seems like a setback. Of course, it was Coors. He has another tough assignment next weekend against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

The 27-year-old right-hander will make his highly anticipated season debut on Sunday against the Rockies at Coors Field. He looked sharp during his recent minor league rehab assignments, but fantasy managers should probably wait and see what he looks like on Sunday before trying to rush him back into lineups.

Strider returns to Atlanta’s rotation mix following a five-week absence recovering from an oblique strain. The 27-year-old velocity and underlying pitch data were extremely encouraging during recent minor league rehab outings, which inspires some confidence fantasy-wise heading into his season debut at hitter-friendly Coors Field. He’s worth the risk in deeper mixed leagues, but fantasy managers in shallow formats are probably best served with a wait-and-see approach before slotting Strider back into lineups.

Atlanta hasn’t finalized their pitching plan for the remainder of the week, but Strider will be part of it, most likely on Sunday in place of journeyman Martín Pérez, after missing the opening five weeks of the season recovering from an oblique strain. The 27-year-old former fantasy ace shouldn’t have any workload restrictions after throwing 82 pitches during his final rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett over the weekend. It’s a challenging spot having to contend with Coors Field’s high-octane offensive environment right out of the gate, but Strider is probably going to be worth the risk for managers in deeper fantasy leagues that have been stashing him this long.