By: William Robinson
Spencer Octavian Strider (his real name is Richard but I’m going for a House of the Dragons type theme here) first of his name. Breaker of baseball bats, destroyer of batters wills, savior of the Atlanta Braves season, uniter of the Braves pitching staff and wielder of the most awesome of mustaches. He is the king of the fastball and this year he is the Atlanta Braves Rookie of the Year even if you might like a guy named Michael Harris. Spencer in a couple of outing ago was almost a superhuman. He struck out 16 batters and walked none while only allowed two hits. He was amazing! He was electric! He was Fantastic!! His pitching appointments have become must watch TV. He’s the most electrifying player since Barry Bonds in my mind.
So far this season Spencer has been 10-4 with a K/9 of 13.6!!! His ERA is 2.69 and he has a WHIP of 0.970. He has been by all accounts one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball and his WAR of 3.6 is amazing for a pitcher. He has electrified the Atlanta fans and many of whom (myself included) have started wearing a mustache to cheer him on. His performance this year brings back shades of Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. He has led the Braves to the NL East lead.
This has been an amazing year for Braves rookies. The afore mentioned Michael Harris has been wonderful as well. If Spencer doesn’t win the ROY award, then it will be Harris. Harris has batted .312, has 16 HR, 52 RBI, 16 SB, and an OPS of .898. His WAR is 4.6. He has been stellar in the field and at the plate. Also there has been Vaughn Grissom (no relation to Braves great Marquis Grissom) who has batted .333 with an OPS of .919 in the 27 games that he has played in. These players are amongst the youngest in Major League Baseball and have shown a tenacity that rivals any veteran. They battle at the plate are not easy outs to say the least.
These rookies have added to an offense that already had stand out seasons from Austin Riley and Dansby Swanson as well as solid seasons from Matt Olson and Travis d’Arnaud. However, the Braves have struggled as Ronald Acuna has not quite rebounded from his ACL tear and Ozzie Albies has missed significant time with a broken foot. Mike Soroka their amazing young pitcher continues his recovery from a twice torn achilles. We aren’t even going to talk about Marcell Ozuna who has been one of the worst players in baseball since his contract renewal in 2020. These young players have been a god send, and without them the Braves would not be in first place. Did I forget to mention that the Braves are the defending World Champs? This fall is lining up to be very exciting in Atlanta and this team looks like it’s going to be good for a long time. Bring on the dynasty guys. It’s a good time to be a Braves fan!