Braves country’s favorite Canadian, Michael Soroka, took the bump Tuesday night for the Stripers and showed signs of progress as he tries to make his way back to Cobb County. This was Soroka’s 2023 debut and It was certainly a step in the right direction. Michael threw 3 2/3 innings, striking out three batters, walking none and allowing only one run via a solo shot against Norfolk.

You can find the Statcast breakdown of last nights outing here.

He got these eleven outs on 61 Pitches (37 Strikes) and eight were recorded with a ground ball or a K. He displayed a nice pitch mix featuring 20 Sinkers, 19 Sliders, 15 4-Seamers and 7 Changeups. The fastball averaged 93 MPH and the slider sat around 83. Nine swinging strikes is also a number I like, with five of those coming off of the slider. No walks is always a highlight as well.

Atlanta’s young pitching depth is an embarrassment of riches, especially considering the spring emergence of Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd but Mike can still be a huge part of this team moving forward. It’s nice to see him on a track back to normalcy after the brutal injury’s and recovery path he’s endured. He’s currently on a $2.8 million dollar deal for the 2023 season so the team obviously holds some stock in him and I personally see Soroka being around this club for a long time. It will be interesting to monitor his progress over the next several weeks and see can finally make his way back under the lights of Truist Park. I’ll leave you with a 20 second highlight reel of his nastiest offerings compiled by @PitchingNinga on Twitter.