JR Ritchie called up to Atlanta; will start for Braves Thursday
by David Leisering | Braves Correspondent | Wed, Apr 22nd 10:45pm EDT
JR Ritchie has been called up to Atlanta and will make his highly anticipated major league debut on Thursday against the Washington Nationals. Didier Fuentes was sent back to Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move. (Grant McAuley on X)
Fantasy Impact:
Ritchie, the #2 prospect in the Braves' organization and 71st overall on the most recent Baseball America Top 100 list, will start for the Braves in the series finale against the Nationals on Thursday. The 22-year-old righthander has gone 3-1 with a 0.99 ERA in five starts at Gwinnett this season, allowing only 15 hits while striking out 28 in 27.1 innings. Last season, Ritchie climbed from High-A Rome to Gwinnett and combined to go 8-6 with a 2.64 ERA while allowing only 87 hits in 140 innings across three levels. Since both Fuentes and Martin Perez were used on Wednesday, the Braves are calling up Ritchie to start Thursday and to get the rotation lined up for their weekend series against the Phillies. Ritchie may be worth taking a flyer on as a daily streaming option, but Washington is a tough matchup, ranking second in the majors with 142 runs scored. However, if Ritchie pitches well against Washington, it would further cloud the rotation decisions that need to be made by the Braves to see who will stick when Spencer Strider (oblique) returns.
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