The Atlanta Braves' early-season struggles have been well documented by this point, with a 3-9 record that has them situated at the bottom of the NL East and 5.0 games back of the Mets and Phillies as of April 11.
They also sport a disastrous 0-7 record on the road, which they'll have to correct soon before it completely sinks their season.
Nevertheless, there is some good news circling Atlanta, which should be refreshing for a squad currently weathering tons of injuries (and suspensions).
Spencer Strider, who missed all but two starts of the 2024 season, looks close to returning to the big leagues after some dominant rehab performances in Triple-A Gwinnett.
Spencer Strider dominates rehab assignment, could makes Braves return soon
Strider made two Grapefruit League appearances at the end of spring training, though he clearly needed more time to ramp up after missing nearly all of last year with a UCL injury.
He's now up to three rehab starts in Gwinnett, and his latest was utterly dominant. In 5 1/3 innings, he allowed just one earned run and five baserunners, striking out 13 (!) of the 21 hitters he faced.
Spencer Strider just struck out 13 of the 21 batters he faced on 90 pitches... Chat, is that good?
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) April 10, 2025
5.1 IP | 3 H | 1 ER | 2 BB | 13 SO pic.twitter.com/3MDs4zZArV
It's been exactly one year since he had a brace placed onto his elbow to help heal a partially torn UCL, which did not require reconstructive Tommy John surgery. Considering how he looked while reaching his target pitch count of 90, it's clear the Braves organization is feeling confident about Strider's imminent return.
"When they get done with something like that, we'll see how he feels when he comes in tomorrow, and then he'll do his side [session]," Braves manager Brian Snitker said following Strider's start. "But I feel like he's right where we want him to be before he gets here."
The righty's return can't come soon enough, as the rest of the Braves' starting pitchers are having a doozy of a time in the first few weeks of the season.
Spencer Schwellenbach is off to a torrid start, pitching to a 0.45 ERA in his first 20 innings of the season. Outside of him, the only Atlanta starter with an ERA under five is Grant Holmes, and he's walking eight batters per nine innings.
The reigning NL Cy Young winner, Chris Sale, has been disastrous, authoring a 6.75 ERA in his first three starts while failing to even average five innings per appearance. Meanwhile, Bryce Elder got hit hard in his lone start, and AJ Smith-Shawver is also struggling to find the strike zone.
Those guys are all talented enough to turn things around in a hurry, but as long as they continue to struggle, the Braves will continue to lose games. Strider may not be able to push Sale deeper into games or teach Holmes how to stop walking every batter he faces, but he can give Atlanta a dependable workhorse to rely on until the other starters return to form.