Braves No. 3 Prospect JR Ritchie Shines in Latest Outing

Atlanta Braves No. 3 prospect JR Ritchie is in the midst of a successful return from Tommy John surgery.

JR Ritchie was selected by the Atlanta Braves as the 35th pick of the 2022 MLB draft / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher prospect JR Ritchie had another strong outing for the Augusta GeenJackets. Ritchie pitched five innings allowing one unearned run, no hits, and striking out seven. It was the second straight game in which the Braves No. 3 Prospect has struck out seven batters. 

JR Ritchie fans seven batters in back-to-back starts.

The @Braves' No. 3 prospect delivers his second five-inning hitless outing of the season for the Single-A @GreenJackets: pic.twitter.com/AgwefgSF6O

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 11, 2024

This was Ritchie’s second outing in Single-A in which he gave up zero earned runs and no hits. It is also the second time in which he completed five innings. 

In five outings with the GreenJackets this season, Ritchie has a 2.49 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP with 28 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings pitched and has held hitters to a .184 opponent average. 

Ritchie has been building back up following his return from Tommy John Surgery. 

He’s not going to be helping the big league club any time this season. He’s never pitched higher than Single-A in his career, and there is no reason to rush his development. However, the Braves have strong pitching depth in the pipeline. The future is looking that much better when your top prospects are performing well. 

There is no word on if Ritchie will move up any further in the Minor Leagues before the end of this season, but a promotion to Rome wouldn't be a surprise.

The Braves have an abundance of pitching prospects. Of the Braves top 10 prospects, six of them are pitchers. Eighteen of their top prospects are pitchers in total, and five are already in Triple-A: No. 1 prospect A.J. Smith-Shawver, No. 2 prospect Hurston Waldrep, No. 14 prospect Dylan Dodd, No. 23 prospect Allan Winans and No. 30 prospect Hayden Harris. 

In theory, they will soon have more answers for the rotation depth going forward. And they need the depth badly. The rotation has battled the injury bug this season and there have been few options to respond to it. It’s not going to help much this season, but there is a peace of mind for the future knowing more help is on the way.