One of the more pleasant developments this season for the Atlanta Braves despite all of the heartbreak has been the emergence of JR Ritchie in the minor leagues. After needing to undergo Tommy John surgery in 2023, there was a good bit of uncertainty as to how he would bounce back. Thankfully, Ritchie quickly quieted those doubts and put himself on the verge of the big leagues.
After a 2025 season where he rose all the way to Triple-A and posted a 2.61 ERA in 25 starts with 136 in 134.2 innings of work, Braves fans started to get excited for his arrival in the majors. However, despite a slew of injuries in their rotation, Atlanta opted to keep Ritchie in the minors for now with the idea being that there was a very good chance that he could debut in 2026. However, one recognition that Ritchie had failed to receive despite appearing in the 2025 Futures Game was placement on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list.
That just changed. After some notable prospect graduations thanks to a slew of high profile promotions by other teams that managed to stick, Ritchie slid into the back end of the top 100 and currently sits at 99.
JR Ritchie finally got the top 100 recognition he deserved all along, but it is his future in the Braves' rotation that really matters
Look, being on a top 100 prospects list is an honor, albeit an imperfect one. The lists aren't updated all that often and while the major ones often do a great job of getting things mostly right, guys like Ritchie whose stock has changed significantly in a relatively short period of time often fall through the cracks. Good on MLB Pipeline to put Ritchie on the list when given the opportunity now as there might not be many more chances to do so.
Braves front office head Alex Anthopoulos has said in the past that he almost prefers when the prospects the team likes the best don't get much in the way of press with Michael Harris II being a notable example when he was in the minors. In Ritchie's case, he was a high draft pick to be sure, but one that sort of fell off experts' radars because of his elbow surgery even after he returned.
However, the Braves' secret is starting to get out now as more and more people realize that Ritchie's fastball/slider/changeup mix has been mowing batters down in Triple-A. While it is nice that experts are recognizing Ritchie's growth, what really matters is that it looks like the Braves could have a rotation mainstay in him no matter where he is ranked.