Braves Prospect JR Ritchie Earns AA Promotion: Fantasy Baseball Impact
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After dominating over his final two seasons at Bainbridge High School (13-0 with three runs and 128 strikeouts over 59.0 innings), the Braves selected JR Ritchie 35th overall in the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft. He pitched well over his first 21 games in the minors (3.14 ERA, 1.086 WHIP, and 95 strikeouts over 77.1 innings), but his right elbow needed TJ surgery in late May of 2023.
Ritchie battled his command (eight walks) over his first 14.1 innings at High A this season, but he still had success in ERA (2.51) and WHIP (1.26). His right arm reached star potential over his last four outings (two runs, 15 baserunners, and 26 strikeouts over 27.1 innings). He issued only two free passes over this span. Ritchie’s highlight game on May 10th (a complete game, one-hit shutout with one walk and nine strikeouts) earned him a promotion to AA.
Ritchie’s stock continues to rise.📈
— Rome Emperors (@GoEmperors) May 12, 2025
JR Ritchie is your SAL pitcher of the week! pic.twitter.com/HwGi8B3hMy
When at his best, his fastball sits in the mid-90s, and he has the ability to cut pitches into right-handed batters. Ritchie features a swing-and-miss breaking pitch that handcuffs lefties on the inner half of the plate and forces righties to chase it out of the zone. It offers a sharp downward move with enough side action to create weak contact.
His fastball should progress to the high 90s, leading to Ritchie owning the top of the strike zone with his elite command. At the same time, the path of his top breaking pitches can start on a similar sightline before bottoming out of the strike zone for easy outs.
Ritchie will turn 22 in late June while offering the arsenal and command to make the jump from AA to the majors. He is a prospect worth monitoring in deeper fantasy baseball formats.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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