Atlanta optioned Ritchie to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.
Ritchie will give up his spot on the active roster to left-hander Martin Perez (elbow), who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the Padres. After tossing 3.2 innings in long relief during Tuesday's 8-3 loss, Ritchie was unlikely to be available out of the Atlanta bullpen for at least the next couple of days.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Works in relief Saturday
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Ritchie was credited with his second hold of the season in Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Rangers after striking out a batter and allowing one hit and no walks over a scoreless inning of relief.
Ritchie helped cover for the demoted Hurston Waldrep last Sunday, with Atlanta deploying him for 4.1 innings of bulk relief in a 4-3 win over St. Louis. Rather than opening the second half with Ritchie as the fifth starter, Atlanta instead handed Owen Murphy his first MLB start Saturday before Atlanta manager Walt Weiss leaned on Ritchie and six other relievers to finish out the contest. Atlanta optioned Murphy to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, but Ritchie appears likely to stick in the bullpen for the time being with Martin Perez (forearm) expected to return from the injured list during the upcoming week.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Fares well in bulk-relief outing
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Ritchie allowed one run on one hit and two walks while striking out two over 4.1 innings in a no-decision versus St. Louis on Sunday.
Ritchie had to come in earlier than expected after opener Danny Young allowed a run and left two men on base with two outs in the first inning. Ritchie got out of that jam and then turned in a strong performance of his own, running into trouble only in the fourth inning. Ritchie has allowed two runs over 8.2 innings across three appearances in July. He's now at a 4.38 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 44:30 K:BB through 49.1 innings over 11 games (seven starts) in the majors. Ritchie's role remains in flux -- he could return to the bullpen full-time or get demoted Triple-A Gwinnett if Martin Perez (forearm contusion) is ready to go after the All-Star break.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Pitching in bulk relief Sunday
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Ritchie is slated to work in bulk relief behind opener Danny Young during Sunday's game in St. Louis, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Young is unlikely to work more than an inning or two before giving way to Ritchie, who has re-entered the Atlanta rotation following Hurston Waldrep's recent demotion to Triple-A Gwinnett. Ritchie's workload is still expected to be monitored carefully Sunday, as the young righty will be taking the hill on just two days' rest after covering 1.1 innings in a 35-pitch appearance Thursday.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Returns to big club as reliever
Rotowire
Atlanta recalled Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.
One day after being optioned to Triple-A, Ritchie will rejoin Atlanta after Martin Perez exited his start in Sunday's loss to the Mets due to a forearm contusion and was moved to the 15-day injured list. Though the loss of Perez creates a need for a fifth starter, Bryce Elder is expected to slot back into the rotation during the upcoming week after having his previous turn skipped. As such, Ritchie will serve as a multi-inning option out of the Atlanta bullpen for the team's final seven games before the All-Star break, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Headed back to Triple-A
Rotowire
Atlanta optioned Ritchie to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.
Ritchie's stay with Atlanta lasted just one day, with the 23-year-old righty working out of the bullpen in Saturday's 14-3 win over the Mets and striking out four over three scoreless innings en route to collecting his first career save. Atlanta called up Carlos Carrasco from Triple-A in a corresponding move while Ritchie slots back into the rotation at Gwinnett.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Receiving another start
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Ritchie is slated to start Tuesday's game against the Padres at Petco Park, Lindsay Crosby of BravesToday.com reports.
Ritchie will receive another turn through the rotation, despite a lackluster showing in his return to a starting role his last time out Wednesday, when he took a loss against the Giants after yielding five earned runs on five hits and three walks across five innings. Though the rookie right-hander has turned in underwhelming ratios (4.54 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 30:21 K:BB) over his first 35.2 innings in the big leagues, he'll have a pathway to making multiple starts while none of Spencer Strider (elbow), Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow) and AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow) are particularly close to returning from the 60-day injured list.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Entering rotation Wednesday
Rotowire
Ritchie is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Giants in Atlanta, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
After being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, Ritchie joined the Atlanta bullpen and made just his second relief appearance since entering the professional ranks in 2022. He ended up piggybacking injured starter Spencer Strider (elbow) in Friday's loss to the Mets, striking out five batters and scattering two hits and two walks over five innings. With Strider landing on the injured list a day later, Ritchie will now be called upon to fill the open spot in the rotation. Strider lacks a clear timeline for a return, so Ritchie should be in line for multiple starts with the big club.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Looks good in long relief
Rotowire
Ritchie gave up two hits and two walks over five scoreless relief innings in Friday's loss to the Mets. He struck out five.
The rookie right-hander finished out the game after Spencer Strider (forearm) was pulled following a leadoff walk to MJ Melendez in the bottom of the fourth inning while showing greatly diminished velocity. Strider has already been placed on the IL and is being sent for an MRI on Saturday, and Ritchie's impressive relief performance over 73 pitches (42 strikes) makes him the logical candidate to move into the rotation. Over 30.2 innings in the majors this season, Ritchie has a 3.82 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 26:18 K:BB.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Returning to big leagues
Rotowire
Atlanta recalled Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.
Ritchie had an up-and-down first stint in the majors, posting a 4.91 ERA and 21:16 K:BB over 25.2 innings in his five starts. It appears he will operate in a relief role this time around, providing the team with a bullpen arm capable of covering multiple innings.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Sent back to minors
Rotowire
Atlanta optioned Ritchie to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.
Ritchie was tagged for six runs over four innings in Monday's loss to the Marlins. He was terrific in his major-league debut last month but wound up posting a 4.91 ERA and 21:16 K:BB over 25.2 innings in his five starts for Atlanta. With Ritchie back in the minors, Martin Perez should settle into a rotation spot for Atlanta.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: No-decision vs. Cubs
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Ritchie did not factor into Wednesday's decision against the Cubs, allowing one run on two hits and three walks while striking out four across 4.1 innings.
Ritchie kept the Cubs off the board through the first four innings of Wednesday's game. He allowed two baserunners in the fifth before being replaced by Tyler Kinley, with the latter giving up an RBI single to Nico Hoerner for the Cubs' only run of the game. Ritchie ran up his pitch count to 87 while tossing 53 strikes (60.9 percent strike rate), but he failed to complete five frames for the first time through four MLB starts. He sits at a 3.32 ERA and 1.43 WHIP across 21.2 innings this season. His next start is slated for next week on the road against the Marlins.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Set to start Wednesday
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Ritchie will make his next start Wednesday against the Tigers in Atlanta, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Ritchie was exceptional in his major-league debut Thursday against the Nationals, earning a win while tossing seven innings of two-run ball and striking out seven batters. He'll now stick around with the major-league rotation for the time being, with Atlanta deciding to shift Reynaldo Lopez to bullpen in order to allow him to fix some mechanical issues. With Spencer Strider (oblique) on the cusp a return from the 15-day injured list, Atlanta will likely have just one spot in the rotation available for either Ritchie or Martin Perez once Strider is back in the fold.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Added to roster ahead of debut
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Atlanta selected Ritchie's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.
Ritchie is set to make his major-league debut Thursday versus the Nationals. The 22-year-old has had a dominant run at Gwinnett to begin the 2026 campaign, collecting a 0.99 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 28:13 K:BB through 27.1 innings spanning five starts. It's likely to be just a spot start for Ritchie, as Spencer Strider (oblique) is due to rejoin the Atlanta rotation next week.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Making MLB debut Thursday
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Atlanta will select Ritchie's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Thursday's game against the Nationals, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Considered to be one of the best pitching prospects in Atlanta's farm system, Ritchie has posted a 0.99 ERA and 1.03 WHIP alongside a 28:13 K:BB through 27.1 innings (five starts) at Gwinnett this season. He's now earned the right to make a start with Atlanta and will take on a Nationals offense that ranks second in MLB with 142 runs scored through 25 games. The 22-year-old's time in the majors is likely to be brief, as Spencer Strider (oblique) is nearing the end of his rehab assignment and could return from the injured list next week. However, an impressive outing Thursday could buy Ritchie another start in the big leagues.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Strong start to campaign
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Ritchie has posted a 1.72 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB through 15.2 innings over three starts for Triple-A Gwinnett this season.
The 22-year-old right-hander is coming off his best outing of the year so far Tuesday, allowing just one run over seven innings against Nashville with a 7:1 K:BB. Ritchie isn't yet on the 40-man roster and may be behind Didier Fuentes in the pecking order for a promotion as a result if Atlanta needs rotation help, but he's building a string case to make his big-league debut at some point in 2026.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Sharp in spring debut
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Ritchie tossed two scoreless, no-hit innings in Atlanta's Grapefruit League game against the Twins on Sunday, walking one and striking out one.
The 22-year-old right-hander tossed 19 of 32 pitches for strikes in his spring debut. Ritchie is knocking on the door of the majors after posting a 3.02 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 61:27 K:BB through 11 starts and 59.2 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett last season, and while Atlanta doesn't want to rush him, he could be an injury or two away from getting thrust into the rotation.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Fans career-high 11 at Gwinnett
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Ritchie gave up one hit and two walks over six scoreless innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday. He struck out 11.
The 11 Ks were a career high for the 22-year-old right-hander at any level. Ritchie has made an impressive return from May 2023 Tommy John surgery, beginning the season at High-A and now sitting one promotion away from his big-league debut. Over seven starts for Gwinnett, he's posted a 3.62 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 39:16 K:BB through 37.1 innings, and while Atlanta has little reason to bring him up in September, Ritchie could get an audition for a rotation spot next spring.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Strong start to season
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Ritchie has posted a 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB through 21 innings over four starts for High-A Rome.
The 21-year-old right-hander is looking to stay healthy this year after making a late-season return from Tommy John surgery in 2024. Ritchie's strikeout rate is down in the early going -- he fanned 48 over 42.1 innings between Single-A and High-A last year -- but he built up to 6.2 innings in his most recent outing April 22, allowing two runs on three hits with a 5:0 K:BB. Atlanta won't rush Ritchie up the ladder, but a promotion to Double-A in the second half wouldn't be surprising if he continues to have success in the South Atlantic League.
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Braves' JR Ritchie: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Ritchie (elbow) allowed one hit and struck out one over two scoreless innings in his first rehab start Monday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.
Ritchie appeared in his first game since undergoingTommy John surgery last May. Since being taken with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, the 20-year-old Ritchie has logged just 29.2 innings in the professional ranks. He's posted a 3.34 ERA and 40:8 K:BB during that time and could move his way up prospect lists if he's able to prove his health and regain his pre-surgery velocity and command.
