Spencer

Strider

Strider remains without a definitive return timeline after suffering an oblique strain during the late stages of spring training. The 27-year-old former fantasy ace has been one of the most polarizing arms in the entire fantasy landscape this spring. There should be a clearer timetable for his return to Atlanta’s injury-plagued rotation once he’s cleared to resume throwing. His absence puts José Suarez in the rotation with Didier Fuentes functioning as a multi-inning relief weapon.

The good news is that the injury is not related to his arm. The bad news is that, because of pitching mechanics, oblique strains can sideline pitchers for four to six weeks. Strider will not be able to throw while he manages the pain and inflammation. He will then begin some strengthening exercises and work his way back onto the mound and have to ramp up his pitch count again. Fantasy managers should expect Strider back in the rotation sometime in early May. Until then, the Braves will likely turn to either Jose Suarez or Didier Fuentes in their starting rotation; however, they could also decide to add any of Martin Perez, Carlos Carrasco, or JR Ritchie to their 40-man roster as well.

Strider was sharp today, but he didn’t build on his velocity gains from his second time out; he averaged 94.8 mph with his fastball, which is a tad down from 95.0 mph on Thursday and his 95.5 mph last season. There’s plenty of reason to hope that 2026 Strider will be a fair amount better than 2025 Strider, but he’s yet to give much reason to think that 2022/23 Strider will be walking through that door.

Strider wasn’t great today, but the important thing was that his velocity was back up. He averaged 95.9 mph with his fastball during his first inning of work and 95.0 mph for the day. That latter mark is still down 0.5 mph from last year, but it’s 1.9 mph better than in his spring debut last week. Ideally, he’ll keep building from there and get a bit closer to the 97.2 mph he averaged while winning 20 games in 2023.

Strider’s four-seam fastball velocity was down over two miles per-hour from last year as he averaged just 93.1 mph in this early-spring outing. He generated just three swinging strikes and finished with a 19 percent CSW on 32 pitches. The positive news is that he allowed just three batted balls with exit velocities over 95 mph. The 27-year-old former fantasy ace is one of the riskier mid-round selections in drafts this spring as his velocity and command simply haven’t returned to pre-surgery levels.

Strider got 15 whiffs on 40 swings today, but he also gave up eight hits. Nine of the 19 balls in play against him were hit at least 99 mph. Strider ends his first year back from Tommy John surgery 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA and a 24.3% strikeout rate. His average fastball was down 1.7 mph from 2023, when he struck out 36.8% of the batters he faced. One imagines he’ll put in a lot of work this winter in trying to improve his diminished vertical break on his fastball. He probably shouldn’t be looked at as top-20 SP for 2026, but he could move back into that territory if he looks particularly good in the spring.

Strider gave up six hits, walked three and struck out six. The 26-year-old right-hander has allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts. Strider lowered his ERA to 4.45, the lowest it’s been since early August. He’s lined up to face the Pirates at home in the final weekend of the regular season.

The 2025 season has been a relatively massive disappointment for Strider, but the last two starts were a nice reminder of why the expectations are so high. The 26-year-old allowed four hits and two walks, and he struck out six while lowering his ERA to 4.64 and improving his record to 6-13 on the season. Strider remains a bit of a risky proposition for the remainder of 2025, but shouldn’t be ignored in 2026. He’ll make at least one more start Sunday against the Tigers in Detroit.

The 26-year-old right-hander scattered six hits on the evening while issuing three walks. The Cubs scratched out two early runs against him — on a sacrifice fly by Pete Crow-Armstrong in the first inning and an RBI single by Crow-Armstrong in the third. Strider got a whopping 16 swings and misses on 97 pitches on the night — nine on his slider — while registering a CSW of 33 percent. Now 5-13 on the season, Strider will carry a disappointing 4.86 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 114/44 K/BB ratio (107 1/3 innings) into Monday’s matchup against the Nationals in Washington.

The decision to push Strider back to Atlanta’s upcoming series against the Cubs isn’t injury-related, according to the club. It’ll be lefty Joey Wentz taking the ball for Sunday afternoon’s matinee in his place. The hard-throwing 26-year-old, who is tentatively scheduled to start on Tuesday night, is coming off a lackluster performance his time out against the Cubs on Monday where he notched only one strikeout and surrendered three runs over five innings. He’s no longer occupying real estate in must-start territory for fantasy purposes at this advanced stage of the season.