Braves Determine Spencer Strider's Next Rehab Start

The Atlanta Braves will have Spencer Strider back on the bump in Gwinnett. As expected, he’ll have the ball to start on Sunday. This will be his third rehab start and his second in Triple-A. 

The Stripers are set to finish their series with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Sunday. Strider will have led things off and then capped the series off. 

On Tuesday, he pitched 4 1/3 innings and built himself up to 65 pitches, 15 more than he threw on Thursday when he took the mound for High-A Rome. It can be presumed that he’ll have Sean Murphy behind the dish again for his start. He’s still working his way up to catching a full nine innings

“Definitely a luxury for this,” Strider said on Tuesday. “As well as he knows me, as many times as he’s caught me, certainly capable of saying, Hey, let’s just get deep into the game. I just kind of let him worry about that, and I’ll execute from there.” 

He allowed one hit and one walk, while tallying eight punch-outs against Jacksonville. The radar gun lit up when he showed the fastball, with it topping out at 98.1 mph. Five of his strikeouts came on the heater, and the other three came on the slider.

Strider is working his way back from an oblique strain that he suffered right as spring training was coming to a close. Initially, the hope was that it would cost him a start or two, but that went out the window quickly. 

Based on his progression, it can be expected that Strider will throw around 80 pitches. He’s added 15 pitches per start so far. If he looks sharp again, perhaps he could be set to return, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Strider emphasized the ability to give his team a proper workload when he returned, and based on his parameters, he wouldn’t be there quite yet. 

“I think, for obvious reasons, to be capable of going to 100 pitches-plus confidently,” he said. “It just presents a lot of risks to the team when you can’t give a full start. So, yeah, that’s just part of the process, and I’m just gonna try to follow the lead on that one.” 

Knowing the team's persistent need for innings the last few weeks, having him ready to ease that pressure would be ideal.

The recent successful debut of JR Ritchie could give the Braves the confidence not to rush Strider back until he’s fully ready. After he returns, we’ll see who is bumped from the rotation. 

Following Sunday’s game, the rotation is still listed as to be determined. The Braves have another off day on Monday, which gives everyone a guaranteed day of rest and a chance to reset the rotation where it’s needed. 

Martín Pérez had to be used out of the bullpen on Wednesday. However, he should be available again to start if they want to keep him in the rotation while Ritcihe is up in the majors.