Braves' Spencer Strider: Not worried by early velocity

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Strider allowed one run on two hits and no walks while striking out two over two innings during his spring debut Saturday against the Orioles. His fastball averaged 93.1 mph and touched 94.3 mph, and afterwards the right-hander said, "it's going to take time to get those things where I know everyone wants them to be," Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

A lower velocity early in spring training is fairly common for pitchers, but Strider deserves extra scrutiny given that his fastball velocity has steadily trended downward since averaging 98.2 mph during his first full MLB campaign in 2022. It averaged 95.5 mph last season in his first year back from internal brace surgery on his elbow, and he was inconsistent on the mound with a 4.45 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and significantly lower 9.4 K/9. Strider is currently more focused on improving the shape of his fastball, which could help him regain some dominance even if his velocity doesn't return to that 2022 peak.