The Atlanta Braves earned a 9-3 victory on Opening Day over the Philadelphia Phillies. It was an impressive road win, as Atlanta didn't deal with too much trouble despite the Phillies' passionate and loud fans at Citizens Bank Park. Braves ace Spencer Strider, who pitched five innings of two-run baseball while striking out eight, reacted to the Phillies fans following Atlanta's win.
“They don’t boo nobodies, that’s what I’ve been told,” Strider said, via Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “I like playing here. It’s a fun place to play. They have passionate fans.”
First baseman Matt Olson echoed a similar sentiment, via Bowman as well.
“That’s the competitive juices you like,” Olson said. “I like to play in good atmospheres. You find a way to thrive on that energy.”
Phillies fans tend to make life especially difficult on opposing pitchers. They get extra loud when another pitcher is on the mound, especially when the hurler finds himself in a jam. Strider, though, is going to deliver filthy offerings despite the crowd, as evidenced by the following video provided by Rob Friedman AKA Pitching Ninja:
Spencer Strider, 98mph Fastball and 82mph Curveball, Overlay.
Good luck. pic.twitter.com/BVqEkZB4rC
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 29, 2024
Spencer Strider's Cy Young ceiling
Walks can be an issue at times for Strider. His control of the strike zone has sometimes been problematic. From purely a stuff perspective, though, it's difficult to argue that any pitcher in MLB is better than Strider.
Strider's curveball, which was shown in the above video, is a new pitch that he debuted in spring training. Although, these days it's difficult to label off-speed pitches. Gone are the days of just the simple curveball/slider/changeup trio of breaking balls. In today's game, there are sweepers, splitters, sinkers, slurves, and more.
“Kind of. I mean, we’re working on a couple things, just like playing with different shapes of the slider,” Strider said of his new pitch in February, via David O'Brien of The Athletic. “The terminology, you know, on all this stuff — sweeper, slider, cutter, curve, slurve, who knows what anything does? I think it’s just manipulating the ball a little more, seeing what kind of different shapes I can get. More so just kind of screwing around, taking that chance right now in live BP.”
Any breaking ball is going to be effective when you are offsetting it with a high-90's or low-100's fastball, of course. Strider's ability to consistently mix pitches is impressive, and if he can continue to develop control hitters will be in trouble.
Braves' 2024 outlook
Atlanta has high expectations in 2024. They were MLB's best team in 2023 before stumbling in the playoffs against these Phillies.
Still, they will return a similar roster to 2023 and they are poised for a deep playoff run. Teams such as the Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers will present roadblocks, but there is no denying Atlanta's potential.
Spencer Strider and Max Fried are one of MLB's best starting pitching duos. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson will lead the offense once again. And Atlanta's bullpen features more than enough talent to close out games.
The Braves will look to advance to 2-0 on the season against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Saturday at 4:05 PM EST. The rivals will complete their series on Sunday before the Braves head to Chicago to battle the White Sox in an inter-league affair.
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