JR Ritchie Keeping Faith in Process Amid Push for Braves Call Up

JR Ritchie continues to build his resume for a major league call-up. The Atlanta Braves No. 2 prospect is coming off arguably his strongest outing in Triple-A. On Tuesday, he pitched seven innings of one-run ball while holding hitters to just a hit and a walk.

Six of his seven strikeouts came on his curveball. The sweeper made for a nice complementary pitch, also missing a good number of bats. It’s a continuation of his efforts to refine his large arsenal of pitches that he’s developed.

“I’m a really big fan of throwing multiple breaking balls and multiple fastballs,” Ritchie said Wednesday afternoon, the day after his last start. “I think it keeps hitters honest. You know, eliminates them from being able to sit on specific zones and really try to zone you up. It makes them expand a bit more and respect other pitches.”

For him, it all starts with his fastball, a four-seamer, which has begun to show some more life recently.

“I think it really sets up the breaking stuff really nicely, and it feels good right now,” Ritchie said.

He continues to build off what he learned in spring training. He’s had the chance to pick the minds of the big leaguers - even seizing the chance of being “annoying” to them- and apply what he learned from those interactions.

Through three starts, the results of what has been applied have resulted in a 1.72 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP with 15 strikeouts across 15 2/3 innings pitched. With each start, he’s been working to make the needed tweaks, but he’s not having to, nor aiming to do anything major.

“I think that’s the biggest thing for me, is sometimes I’ll get in my own way, and I’ll try and make big changes, and I like to tinker with stuff all the time,” he said. “I think the biggest thing for me is just, you know, sticking with my guns and figuring out what I do well and trying to work off that.”

That headspace goes hand-in-hand with how he approaches what could be next for him. His time in spring training put him further on the map, and the Braves can never have enough options for the starting rotation.

Right now, he’s not on the 40-man. He’s not even next in line if someone needs to be called up. However, the expectation is that he will see action in the major leagues this season. It’s an exciting thought for Ritchie, but by now, he knows not to get ahead of himself.

It’s all about trusting the process.

“I tend to get a little messed up when I try to look ahead too far,” he said. “I had it last year a couple times in the lower levels, and the year before even. You know, when am I getting called up to the next level and stuff like that? Every time that I started to break through and eventually did get called up was when I was the least worried about getting called up.”

That process remains methodical for Ritchie. He’ll write out his routines the night before. There’s not winging it. He wants to have an understanding of the task he has for the day, whether is be mobility, conditioning or strength training.

It’s a way of going about his business that stood out to multiple veteran rotation arms in the Braves rotation, including Chris Sale, with whom Ritchie has been fostering a close relationship, and Spencer Strider, with whom Ritchie got to work more closely during the spring.

Much of the wisdom they’ve given him isn’t necessarily different from what he might hear elsewhere, but having it come from them, who have been around the block a few times in the major leagues, helps it sink in more.