Spencer Strider

Spencer Robert Strider (born October 28, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Clemson Tigers, and was drafted by the Braves in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2021. Strider was an MLB All-Star in 2023, and led MLB in wins and strikeouts for the season.

Strider grew up a Cleveland Indians fan in Knoxville, Tennessee, and attended the Christian Academy of Knoxville. As an underclassman, he initially committed to play college baseball at Ohio. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 35th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but decided to attend college and did not sign.

Strider decided to play college baseball at Clemson, with the Clemson Tigers.

In his freshman year at Clemson, he posted 5–2 record with a 4.76 earned run average (ERA) and tallied 70 total strikeouts over 51 innings pitched. In 2018, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Strider missed the 2019 season after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, which required Tommy John surgery.

He returned from the injury in 2020 and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the 126th pick in the fourth round of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft and signed.

Strider split his professional debut of 2021 between the Augusta GreenJackets (A), the Rome Braves (High-A), the Mississippi Braves (AA), and the Gwinnett Stripers (AAA). Between the four stops he posted a 3–7 record with a 3.64 ERA and 153 strikeouts over 94 innings.

On October 1, 2021, Strider was selected to the Atlanta active roster. He made his major league debut that night, pitching one inning of relief against the New York Mets. Strider earned his first career win on the final day of the season, again facing the Mets in relief. The Braves finished with an 88–73 record, clinching the NL East, and eventually won the 2021 World Series, giving the Braves their first title since 1995.

Strider began the 2022 season on the Braves' Opening Day roster. He began the season in the bullpen and was moved to the starting rotation from May 30 onwards. Strider was named National League Rookie of the Month for July. On September 1, he broke the Braves' record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game, fanning 16 Colorado Rockies batters in eight shutout innings. On September 18, Strider became the fastest pitcher in either the American League or National League to throw 200 strikeouts in a single season, reaching the milestone in 130 innings pitched. He was also the first rookie in the franchise's modern-era history to strike out 200 batters in a single season. The feat had been accomplished by Bill Stemmyer and Kid Nichols in 1886 and 1890, respectively, while the franchise was known as the Boston Beaneaters. Strider made his final appearance of the 2022 regular season on September 18, and was placed on the 15-day injured list due to an oblique injury on September 24. On October 10, 2022, the Braves and Strider agreed to a 6-year, $75M extension through the 2029 season. For the 2022 regular season, he was 11–5 with a 2.67 ERA in 31 games (20 starts), and struck out 202 batters over 131.2 innings.