"Sigh, this is a depressing one of these to do. Everything about Spencer Strider was, in theory, so awesome, that it didn't seem like a little thing like a year-long layoff due to elbow troubles was going to derail his career. Surely someone so diligent in being in tune with his body and mechanics could hit the ground running, right? Well, not exactly. After an uneven 2025, Strider's outlook is uncertain, and pretty fraught."
"He started 2022 in the big league bullpen, but transitioned to the rotation at the end of May, and well, it seemed like the rest would be history. A hilariously dominant 2022 season could've earned him Rookie of the Year honors had his teammate, Michael Harris II, not taken that piece of hardware. (Strider actually had barely more fWAR than Harris, 4.9 to 4.7, though he was pitching in the bullpen while Harris was in the minors.)"
"Strider then spent a full year in the rotation in 2023, and "hilariously dominant" still applied. His 5.5 fWAR that year was second only to Zack Wheeler's 5.9. All in all, including his time in the bullpen, Strider put up 10.3 fWAR in 318 1/3 innings in 2022-2023, with a 79 ERA-, 59 FIP-, and 63 xFIP-. While perhaps not video game numbers, they were essentially dominant reliever numbers, but from a guy who was close to six innings a game as a starter."
Spencer Strider advanced rapidly after being drafted in the fourth round of the shortened 2020 MLB Draft, pitching at five levels including MLB in his first professional season. He began 2022 in the big-league bullpen, transitioned to the rotation in May, and posted dominant results in both 2022 and 2023. Strider accumulated about 10.3 fWAR across 318 1/3 innings in 2022–2023 with a 79 ERA-, 59 FIP-, and 63 xFIP-. An elbow issue sidelined him for roughly a year in 2024 without requiring Tommy John surgery. An uneven 2025 left his future performance uncertain and fraught.
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