Braves Pitching Prospect Throws Five Scoreless Innings in Latest Triple-A Start

The young arm dazzled in his second outing of 2026

May 31, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of the hat and glove of Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (not pictured) against the Detroit Tigers in the fourth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Throughout spring training, Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Didier Fuentes was the young arm who was turning heads in the organization. But now, another one of the franchise's top pitching prospects recently showed there's more than one up-and-coming hurler to keep an eye on in Atlanta.

Right-handed pitcher JR Ritchie, Atlanta's No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 87 overall prospect for 2026, tossed five scoreless frames in his second Triple-A start of the season on Wednesday. The 22-year-old gave up no runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out five in the Gwinnett Stripers' 6-3 win over the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

In his first outing of the year, Ritchie threw 3 2/3 innings against the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, on March 27. He gave up two runs on five hits and three walks, adding three strikeouts. While that's not necessarily a terrible performance, the 2022 first-round draft pick was more successful at keeping the other team off the scoreboard in his second start of 2026.

One big takeaway from JR Ritchie's first starts of 2026

Mar 10, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher JR Ritchie (92) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Ritchie is only two starts into his season, but one number that sticks out on the stat sheet in this small sample size is the walks. The young righty has three walks in each start so far in 2026, giving him six free passes in 8 2/3 innings pitched this year. Last year, he only walked 54 batters in 140 innings pitched across three minor league levels. And even if you look at just his Triple-A numbers from 2025, Ritchie had 27 walks in 59 2/3 innings pitched over 11 starts for Gwinnett.

It's still early in the year, but the Braves might decide to closely monitor Ritchie's control as he continues his development in the minors. Even in spring training, the 2022 first-round pick only had five walks in 12 innings pitched. That means he already has more walks in his first two minor league starts this year than he did all spring.

Regardless, Ritchie will look to build on his shutout performance against Round Rock in his next start, which will most likely come sometime next week against the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.