Spencer Strider: By Adding Curveball, 'I'm Doing Everything Possible' To Help the Fastball and Slider

The Atlanta Braves ace continues to find ways to improve his game, even after leading the league in strikeouts and setting a new franchise single-season record in the process

The Atlanta Braves could, potentially, be watching greatness. 

They saw one of their top pitchers, in his age 24 season and only his second full year in the majors, break franchise legend John Smoltz's single-season record by putting up a league-leading 281 strikeouts in only 186.2 innings, an absurd 13.5 K/9 rate. 

And now, Spencer Strider might be even better. 

Because Spencer Strider's added a curveball. 

There's been a lot of speculation, both here on Braves Today and elsewhere, about what Strider might do to adjust his pitch mix. 

And it was a legitimate question. Strider's fastball and slider are two of the three most effective pitches in all of baseball, with former Braves starter and current Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman's splitter coming in between Strider's slider (#1) and fastball (#3)...but Strider also used the pairing A LOT. 

However much you think "a lot" might be, it's probably not high enough. Strider threw his fastball and slider a combined 93% of the time last season, tops of any MLB starter. 

And some of that was because of the quality of the changeup - simply put, Strider can't do much more with it at this point and so doesn't really see a point in throwing it more than 7% of the time. 

Enter the curveball

Strider made waves in live BPs earlier in the week, throwing what appeared to be a curveball to Matt Olson. 

Spencer Strider, Fastball and new Curveball, Overlay (with Tails). pic.twitter.com/kRrsCeSzX1

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 20, 2024

From reports and discussion with folks who have seen it live, it has significantly more vertical break than Strider's gyro slider, as well as coming in about five or six mph slower than the slider's 85-86 mph. 

And now we've seen it in a game, with Strider reportedly throwing "several" against the Tampa Bay Rays in Atlanta's Grapefruit League opener as he pitched two scoreless innings with one hit, one walk, and four strikeouts.  

(Note: The game was not broadcast, so we don't have clips of the pitch to show you. If Strider pitches every five days for the rest of Grapefruit League, he'd be lined up for a televised outing on Friday, March 22nd against the Twins, a game that's also scheduled to have Statcast availability. If he pitches once a week, we'd get both TV and Statcast next Saturday on the road against the Blue Jays.) 

Strider himself was pleased with the pitch when talking to media after his outing: 

“I think every time it was effective. And it’s a pitch that, similarly to the changeup, is an effective pitch any time I throw it, regardless of what the outcome is. Because my strengths are my fastball and my slider. So everything I’m doing is trying to help those pitches. And so that’s how today was very educational, starting to see the sequencing and the feedback from hitters in a competitive environment.”

Strider's manager was impressed,as well: 

“That’s a real curveball, too,” Brian Snitker said to the media following the outing. “Nice to see him throw it against another team.”

Snitker went on to mention that he wasn't surprised at all that Strider spent the offseason trying to develop a new pitch essentially from scratch. 

“[Strider] is always looking to add or to get better,” Snitker said. “I don’t think guys like that are ever satisfied. They always feel like there is something they can do to better themselves on the field and make themselves more successful on the field. I don’t think a kid like that will ever change.” 

Strider indicated to the media that he was happy enough with the results that he planned to use it all season, although also admitted it wasn't a finished product. 

“It was a really good learning experience,” Strider said of using the curveball against another team on Saturday. “There were a lot of sequences that were very educational. You know, like fooling around with the new pitch and just some other metrics and things we’ve been keeping an eye on as spring started that we want to learn from.”

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, who signed Strider to a six-year extension worth $75M in Strider's first full season (and prior to him turning 24), explained that this type of work was what he expected out of Strider. 

“This is kind of the time if you want to just experiment with some things, try some things out, this is the time to do it. I think he knows his bread is buttered with his fastball and slider. But look, he’s the type of guy you trust because he’s really bright, he’s really conscientious. Same thing with Max (Fried). They’re always going to try to get better and we’re always going to be supportive.”

Anthopoulos continued to explain that Fried was wired the same way, as well, continuously trying to improve himself.  

“(Max) Fried’s done that every year, too,” Anthopoulos said. “I remember when I first got here, (Fried) was fastball, curveball. Then he came in with the slider. Then he came in with the two-seamer. Spencer’s kind of similar, he’s always going to look for ways to get better. He was gonna incorporate that changeup more last year. So we’ll see."

True to his word, Strider's changeup usage increased last season, from 4.8% to 7.3%, but as we explained earlier this offseason, it wasn't going to be used that much more: 

"You know, the changeup is something I've thrown my whole life, but as I've learned more about my body, biomechanics, and my general strengths and weaknesses, it's something I've come to learn is not an easy pitch for me to throw, mechanically." Strider explained at Braves Fest. "So, I think the ceiling for it is where it (currently) is - it's never going to be something I can throw 50% of the time. There are other pitches that I can learn, that I have an higher aptitude for, that I might try to learn and that may be a direction that I may move in."

And that direction was a curveball. 

And the rest of the league needs to look out. 

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