In Knoxville, Tennessee, Strider was a student at the Christian Academy of Knoxville. In the 35th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, he was selected by the Cleveland Indians; however, he chose not to sign and instead played collegiate baseball for the Clemson Tigers at Clemson University.[1] He participated in summer collegiate baseball in 2018 with the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Falmouth Commodores.[2][3] Strider had Tommy John surgery to repair a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, which kept him out of action for the 2019 campaign.[4] After recovering from his injuries in 2020, he was selected in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Atlanta Braves, with whom he signed.
Strider played parts of 2021 for the Augusta GreenJackets, Rome Braves, Mississippi Braves, and Gwinnett Stripers in his professional debut.[6][7][8] He had a 3-7 record, a 3.64 ERA, and 153 strikeouts in 94 innings between the four locations.[9][10]
Strider was added to the Atlanta active roster on October 1, 2021.That evening, [11][12] he pitched one inning of relief against the New York Mets to make his major league debut.On the last day of the season, Strider gained his first career victory while pitching in relief against the Mets once more [13][14].[15] After finishing with an 88–73 record and winning the NL East, the Braves went on to win the 2021 World Series, their first championship since 1995.
Strider was a member of the Braves Opening Day roster in 2022.[17] He started the season in the pen, but on May 30 he was added to the starting rotation.[18] In July, Strider received the National League Rookie of the Month award.[19] On September 1, he struck out 16 batters from the Colorado Rockies in eight scoreless innings, shattering the Braves record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game.[20][21] On September 18, after pitching 130 innings, Strider became the first pitcher in the American League or the National League to record 200 strikeouts in a single season.[22] In addition, he became the first rookie in the team’s history in the modern era to strike out 200 batters in a single season.
