NORTH PORT, Fla. — In a test of his surgically repaired elbow, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider was impressive in a 30-pitch live batting practice session at CoolToday Park on Friday.
It was believed to be his second such workout this spring in his return from April 2024 surgery to repair a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right (pitching) elbow.
Pitching to catcher Curt Casali with no other players on the field, Strider pitched to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies across two simulated innings. Facing them a total of seven times, Strider recorded four strikeouts against one walk with a number of swing-and-misses.
The 2023 major league strikeout king appeared to hold nothing back, mixing fastballs with breaking pitches and change-ups.
After waving at a breaking pitch for the third strike in one at-bat, Albies walked out of the batter’s box with a five-star review: “That was nasty.”
The two put one ball in play with solid contact. Acuña, himself returning from a torn ACL, took his swings with a brace on his left knee.
The expectation for the 26-year-old Strider remains that he will not be on the opening-day roster and could make his season debut in late April or early May.
