money Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider credits Clemson for his development while injured
Spencer Strider, who has secured a spot in the Atlanta Braves' rotation, barely pitched during his last two years at Clemson.
But that time was crucial to his development, he said.
Strider threw only 12 innings for Clemson in 2019 and 2020 because of an elbow injury and a COVID-shortened season but was picked in the fourth round of the MLB Draft.
The rookie right-hander made his third start Friday and shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates in 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits while striking out eight and walking one in the Braves' 4-2 victory at Truist Park. In 38 1/3 innings this season, Strider (2-2) has a 2.35 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP with 57 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .176 against him.
Strider needed elbow surgery as a sophomore and missed the entire season. It was during that time, though, that he worked on the mental aspect of pitching with Clemson sports psychologist Cory Shaffer and lower-body importance with Rick Franzblau, the school's director of Olympic sports strength and conditioning.
"Rick Franzblau at Clemson, he's the man," Strider recently told the Braves' broadcast team. "He's a smart dude. Really pushes guys and wants you to get the most out of your body. We put a big emphasis on lower body stability and pitching-specific movement patterns."
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During his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery, Strider began keeping detailed notes of his progress. It became a habit and he continued to write everything down after regaining full health.
"(Shaffer) tried to get me to do it for a long time and it took me having TJ and buying into a lot of stuff during that process. Journaling was one of them," Strider said. "It started out more of a way to compare subjective and objective thoughts. Here's the line score, here's what I felt. That kind of stuff. It's turned into more of a scheduling type thing for me, keeping track of my routine, keeping track of my energy levels. ... It's good to have reference points like that to go back on so those subjective feelings don't steer you in a certain direction."
Friday's outing was the longest of the season for Strider, who has been stretched out gradually since making 11 appearances as a reliever. He went four innings and allowed one run with five strikeouts June 4 at Colorado.
"He's handled everything we've thrown at him and more," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "I've been so impressed with this young man."
"TJ was big for me," Strider said. "The experience of starting from the ground up, being methodical about how I want to build my mechanics, how I want my arsenal to look, having time to slow everything down, plan it out, be very purposeful. I learned a lot about myself."
Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Braves pitcher Spencer Strider refined craft through injury at Clemson
