MLB Draft Meets Fantasy Football: Braves Prospect JR Ritchie’s Wild Draft Day

Atlanta Braves prospect JR Ritchie balanced the 2022 MLB Draft with a fantasy football Best Ball draft, creating a once-in-a-lifetime father-son memory.

Ian Ritchie celebrates after his son, JR Ritchie, was selected by the Atlanta Braves as the 35th pick of the MLB draft at XBox Plaza at LA Live. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

On July 17, 2022, JR Ritchie sat in Los Angeles, suited up alongside his family and closest friends, waiting for the moment every kid with a glove dreams about: hearing his name called in the MLB Draft. 

The 19-year-old flamethrower from Bainbridge Island, Washington, had already turned heads with a fastball that rivals the best of them and a mound presence far beyond his years. One scout even joked that he had the maturity of a 10-year veteran. This kid was lighting up radar guns with the best of them.

The question wasn’t whether he would be drafted. The question was only when. 

Instead of being hyper-focused on the the MLB draft board, Ritchie's attention was on a very different draft that was taking place. He was selecting a fantasy football team.

The MLB Draft Meets Fantasy Football

The 19-year-old (at the time) wasn’t just casually scrolling through player rankings or aimlessly reading analysis. No. He was locked into a 20-round Best Ball draft (with his dad as the co-manager) against a group of elite fantasy players who’ve competed (and won) at the Fantasy Football World Championships and the Las Vegas Fantasy Championships.

“It was actually JR’s idea,” recalls his father, Ian Ritchie. “He knew the draft was going to be emotional and stressful, and he said, ‘Why don’t we do a Best Ball draft while we’re waiting?’ Honestly, I thought it was genius.”

It wasn’t all that surprising when you get to know the Ritchie family. Fantasy football is practically in their DNA. Ian Ritchie is the founder of Fulltime Fantasy Sports, a former world #1-ranked fantasy football player, and now runs some of the most prestigious competitions in the space, including the Fantasy Football World Championships (FFWC) and the Las Vegas Fantasy Championships (LVFC). For JR, it wasn’t just about passing time. Drafting with his dad was second nature.

The Best Ball format was perfect for the moment. Lock in your roster on draft day, and the best lineup gets automatically optimized each week. Ideal for a soon-to-be pro baseball player with a jam-packed schedule and his fantasy-obsessed dad.

Inside JR Ritchie’s Wild Draft Day

With the 1.09 pick, JR went with Cooper Kupp fresh off his legendary 2021 triple crown season in which he led the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. From there, the board kept rolling as he filled his roster with running backs, late-round quarterbacks, and sleepers. Every selection was a distraction from the pressure of waiting for a life-changing call.

And then, about an hour later, that call came.

With the 35th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, the Atlanta Braves selected JR Ritchie.

The room erupted. Hugs, tears, high-fives, cameras flashing. JR’s dad embraced him in disbelief. And right in the middle of it all, JR turned to him with one more thought:

“Wait, dad — are we on the clock?”

That’s how seamlessly baseball and fantasy football overlapped for him that night. One draft carried years of sacrifice and hard work. The other carried the joy of a game he shared with his dad. Together, they became one unforgettable memory.

Fantasy Football: A Ritchie Family Tradition

Fantasy football has always been something that bonded JR and his dad. When JR was 12, he once filled in at a live Las Vegas draft after a no-show — and stunned a table full of veteran players by not just holding his own, but winning the league. “He’s always had the love for it,” Ian said through laughs. “That day showed everyone what I already knew.”

Looking back, draft day feels poetic. One draft changed JR’s life forever. The other gave him a grounding, familiar comfort at the exact moment he needed it most.

Sure, the team didn’t win it all — Cooper Kupp’s injury saw to that — but JR still calls it one of the most fun drafts he’s ever done.

Now, in 2025, as JR rises through the Braves’ minor league ranks and fantasy draft season arrives again, the tradition continues. And every time he logs in for another fantasy draft, he can’t help but remember that surreal night in Los Angeles — when he officially became a Brave, and unofficially built a memory he’ll carry forever.

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Want to draft in Ritchie's Fantasy Football World Championships? Take your shot at the $150K Grand Prize HERE.

Events at Circa over draft weekend are sponsored by Mark Wahlberg's Flecha Azul, and Sober Water.

Editor's Note: Ian Ritchie is the president of Chirite Media, which owns and operates Fantasy Sports On SI.