How acquired
The Atlanta Braves used the 35th pick of the first round in the 2022 MLB Draft on JR Ritchie, a right handed pitcher from Washington state. This pick is a pick that they traded Drew Waters, Andrew Hoffmann, and CJ Alexander to the Royals to acquire, and the second pick of their first round – following the selection of Owen Murphy.
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Ritchie was a hard throwing righty with a high upside profile and a player who was seen as a strong pick in the late first round, even if it was somewhat of a surprise to see the Braves double down on prep rightys in the first round.
What were the expectations?
Ritchie looked good in five games after signing, including three with Augusta. The plan for him to open the 2023 season was to start back in Augusta and go from there in his age-19 season. Things got off to a great start and he appeared close to really breaking out with 25 strikeouts in 13.1 innings over four starts, but he blew out his arm and required Tommy John surgery.
That surgery kept him out from early-May 2023 until mid-June of 2024. Ritchie’s results in 2024 after the return were great in 12 games, three in the FCL, seven in Augusta, and two more in Rome. He pitched to a 2.90 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 56 strikeouts in 49.2 innings. However like many pitchers coming off of TJ surgery, his stuff didn’t quite look as crisp last year. That led to him being ranked pretty universally outside of the Top 100 prospect lists coming into the season – but at the same time he was a guy to watch coming into the year to see how his stuff rebounded in Year 2 post TJ.
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2025 results
One word to describe Ritchie’s 2025 season was excellence. He dominated in seven starts for Rome, pitching to a 1.30 ERA and 0.79 WHIP with 38 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. That earned a promotion to Columbus, where in eight starts he pitched to a 3.49 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. He was then moved to Gwinnett, where he made 11 starts with a 3.02 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts in 59.2 innings.
All totaled he made 26 starts, going 8-6 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 140 strikeouts to 54 walks in 140 innings on the season between the three levels. That season saw him go from A-ball to the doorstep of the big leagues, and into the Top 100 prospect lists.
What went right?
Pretty much everything went right for Ritchie this year. Although the biggest keys for him would be adding some new pitches to attack guys differently and pitching with command and feel way beyond someone who was in his age-22 season this year. Ritchie is already a professional pitcher, and not just in terms of pitching for a big league organization – but more that he pitches like a veteran out there, knowing how to attack guys and get them out, even beyond just striking them out.
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What went wrong?
Not a ton went wrong for him unless you want to nitpick a little. You can maybe point to a small adjustment once he moved up to Double-A, but that’s normal for any kid who hasn’t yet faced upper levels hitters yet. The walks were a bit higher than they probably should have been for a guy with his command, walking 4.0 per nine in Columbus and 4.1 per nine in Gwinnett, but that’s more of an adjustment than it is a command issue. Also his stuff was more good than truly elite, so while some of it did come back post-TJ, it also isn’t quite as good as it was for him coming out of high school, so his upside is now seeming like more of a future good #3 starter than a potential top of the rotation guy.
2026 outlook
Ritchie is likely to begin the 2026 season back in Gwinnett, and should get to Atlanta at some point in the season. He may begin the 26 season in some kind of competition for a big league spot, especially with the health questions around the veterans in the Braves rotation, but he could certainly use a little more time to continue his development considering he only has 47 games and 217.1 innings in his pro career to date.
Ritchie is a future building block of the Braves rotation, but they don’t need to hurry him to Atlanta.
