The Braves made a pick that surprised many, myself included, when they picked Clemson RHP Spencer Strider in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. It was an even bigger surprise to find out he got paid slot value considering he was a surprising pick that wasn’t projected by many to be drafted.
That’s not to say Strider isn’t talented, rather he is a very talented pitcher who missed all of last year due to Tommy John surgery and battled some command issues as a freshman. He needed to log some innings this year to rebound his stock, and while he pitched well this spring- he didn’t pitch a ton of innings as the Tigers were ramping him back up in his recovery.