Spencer Strider Injury Analysis: Why Braves' Pitcher Needs 2nd Career Tommy John Surgery

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider was placed on the 15-day IL Sunday with a tear in the UCL in his pitching elbow. 

Following an MRI, the team labeled the injury, a UCL sprain however a sprain is a tear and this means Strider will need the second Tommy John surgery of his young career. 

The main question is when that Tommy John surgery will occur with the Braves targeting victory in the fall classic it’s possible they try different routes to keep Strider's hope alive to pitch late in the season.

Others have done PRP injections to promote healing in the elbow however, that does not completely fix the tear and he will still need Tommy John surgery in the near future. Phillies prospect Andrew painter had a similar injury last season and attempted to pitch through it before opting for Tommy John surgery.

Whether Strider can pitch through the injury will depend on the severity of the tear, but it’s likely the Braves try this route because of how impactful he is on the mound.

The 25-year-old velocity was noticeably decreased in his from start to start with his average fastball velocity at 95.9 mph and his April 5 start.

He threw 90 pitches in his first start on March 29 and 88 pitches in the second start on April 5.

Strider underwent his first Tommy John surgery in 2019 when he was in college at Clemson.

He made his debut in the MLB in 2021, finishing with a 3.86 ERA in 2 starts.

Last season's first-time All-Star pitched a career-high 186.2 innings in 2023 after throwing 131.2 innings in 2022.