In the wake of Ronald Acuña, Jr. recently earning Comeback Player of the Year honors, speculation has already begun for next year’s winner. It’s become a trendy award in Atlanta, with Chris Sale winning it the year before. The Atlanta Braves have a prime candidate who could send that award their way for the third year in a row: Spencer Strider.
Just a few short years ago, Strider was widely considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. In 2022 and 2023, Strider was all the rage in Atlanta. After finishing as the runner-up to his teammate, Michael Harris II, in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, he made his lone All-Star and finished fourth in Cy Young voting.
Since then, his career has been derailed by injuries. His performance since then has seen him try to reinvent himself.
He lasted just two games into the 2024 season, Opening Day and the Braves’ home opener, before reporting elbow discomfort. After an MRI, Strider was reported to have UCL damage in his pitching arm and was sidelined for the remainder of the 2024 season. He was forced to wait over a year to pitch in a Major League game again and hasn’t really seemed to be himself since.
Strider’s calling card, if you will, has always been his velocity, but injuries have proven to be a significant detriment to his pitch speed.
In 2022, Strider averaged 98.2 miles per hour on his fastballs, but his velocity has dropped every year since. During the 2025 season, his fastball sat at just 95.5 miles per hour. Strider hasn’t had a fully injury-free season either. Even after returning from his UCL injury, a grade one hamstring injury sidelined him for an extra month.
While he’s back to full health, making each of his starts since late May, it certainly won’t be easy for Strider to emulate his younger self, at least from a results standpoint. In 2022, Strider boasted 16 strikeouts in a single game against the Rockies on his way to an 11-5 season with a 2.67 ERA and 0.99 WHIP.
He followed that season with a slightly less impressive 3.86 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and a diminished fastball velocity, but the pieces were all there for him, and he led the Braves to 20 wins to just five losses.
Strider’s struggles in 2025 can largely be attributed to his ongoing injury recovery, as he has not been fully healthy since early 2024. Barring a freak circumstance, Strider is poised for his first truly injury-free and fully recovered season in nearly three years. Plus, since he’s injury-free, he’ll have a normal offseason and will get to fully participate in Spring Training. Both of those go a long way.
“I think it’s big for a guy to go into the offseason not in rehab,” former Braves manager Brian Snitker said regarding pitcher injuries back in July. “I think I’ve seen over the years that’s a big difference.”
It would be nice if he were able to get his velocity back up, but that’s highly unlikely. Pitchers lose velocity as they get older. The goal will be how he can win with the velocity he has. It will require further work on his command and determining a new pitch mix. He could ultimately learn a new pitch.
The right adjustments could reinvent him and reestablish him as an All-Star in the Braves rotation. If he can shine out of the gate in 2026, he’ll be in a position to be the latest in Atlanta to make a case for Comeback Player of the Year.
