Top Atlanta Braves prospect JR Ritchie finally got the opportunity to make his MLB debut on Thursday afternoon against the Nationals. It didn't start very well with James Wood homering on the first pitch of the game. However, Ritchie settled in after this and provided Atlanta with seven much-needed innings. He allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
That impressive outing made him the first pitcher in Braves franchise history to complete at least seven innings while allowing no more than two runs and striking out at least seven in his big league debut. It's hard to fathom Atlanta not keeping him in the rotation after that. Unfortunately, the Braves may have to make an unpopular decision to preserve their roster depth.
Braves' need to preserve depth in rotation AND bullpen could push JR Ritchie back to the minors
The bullpen is a little thin right now with Raisel Iglesias on the IL with a sore shoulder. There's no telling when he will be back, so it's hard to justify employing a six-man rotation right now. They need as many arms in the pen as they can get. As good as Ritchie was, the extra pitching roster spot pretty much has to be someone that can come out of the bullpen at least semi-regularly.
Especially with Spencer Strider nearing his return to the rotation. It may be best to let the youngster continue to keep his arm stretched out in the minors. It is becoming clear that Atlanta isn't going to give up easily on the Martin Perez experiment (who has admittedly been better than expected) and it is just easier to shuttle Ritchie back and forth from Gwinnett than to juggle to keep Perez.
It won't be a very popular decision, and it seems wrong not to reward him for such a great showing. However, the team is on a great pace right now, and they will want to keep that momentum going with some stability. One can take some heart in that the Braves are keeping Ritchie around for now, so they are at least open to Ritchie forcing his way into the conversation.
One thing is for sure: this won't be the last time fans see Ritchie at the big league level. If he gets sent down to Triple-A, he will be back in some capacity this season and soon.
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