JR Ritchie #60

Grew up loving football...Two of his earliest words were "Brett Favre"...Attended Bainbridge High School (Bainbridge Island, Wash.)..Was throwing a 91-mph fastball and 78- mph curveball as a high school freshman...Trained by former Braves farmhand Kevin Gunderson...Had his sophomore season canceled due to COVID-19...Originally committed to Oregon State University as a freshman but re-opened his recruitment after the school went through coaching changes...He then committed to UCLA before being drafted by the Braves.

2025

JR Ritchie pitched 26 combined games for Triple-A Gwinnett (11), Double-A Columbus (eight) and High-A Rome (seven) while registering a 2.64 ERA (41 ER/140.0 IP) with 140 fanned batters to 54 walks...Ritchie pitched the second-most innings in the farm system over an Atlanta Minor League-leading 26 starts, tying RHP Lucas Braun...Racked up the second-most strikeouts in the farm system and earned eight wins, tying for the third most in the organization...He accumulated the second-lowest ERA in the organization among pitchers with at least 15 starts, and the lowest as a farmhand, trailing only Chris Sale (2.62 ERA, 23 starts)...Threw his first career complete game and shutout on May 10 with Rome, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out nine over nine innings of work.