The Braves might not have the deepest farm system in baseball, but they’re constantly churning out high-level prospects, beginning a few years ago with Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II.
Most recently, it was Spencer Schwellenbach who broke out for the club last season. The rookie emerged as a legitimate star, finishing the 2024 campaign with a 3.35 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 5.52 SO/W, and 1.043 WHIP across 21 starts and 123.2 innings in Atlanta.
So, who might be the next breakout star on the farm? MLB.com’s candidate is JR Ritchie, who they have ranked as the 7th prospect in Atlanta’s organization.
“The 2022 draftee came back from 2023 Tommy John surgery and showed why he was a first-round caliber talent, reaching High-A and finishing with a 2.90 ERA, .214 BAA and 10.1 K/9 rate over 49 2/3 combined innings. With the elbow injury further in his rearview, let’s see what the right-hander can do when the gloves come off a bit and he puts in a full season of innings.”
The Braves are certainly excited about Ritchie after what he showed this season. After only totaling 27.1 innings across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, the former 35th overall pick put all the worries to bed.
He was promoted to Augusta in July and limited hitters to a .197/.277/.316 slash line and accumulated a 1.95 ERA before his promotion to High-A Rome, where he appeared in three games, posting a 3.60 ERA and 7.20 K/9 compared to a 1.80 BB/9 for the Emperors.
In total, Ritchie threw for 49.2 innings in 2024, 32.1 for Augusta and 10 for High-A Rome, producing a 2.90 ERA with 56 strikeouts against 17 walks.
Expectations in 2025 for JR Ritchie are sky-high as he enters a season completely healthy. It feels safe to assume he’ll earn a promotion to Double-A Mississippi at some point next season, and if things go as some expect, he’ll be in Triple-A Gwinnett in no time. And nobody should be surprised if he somehow makes his major league debut in Atlanta.
The Braves aren’t afraid to streamline a prospect through the system, especially a guy like Ritchie, who has gaudy strikeout potential.
