JR

Ritchie

Ritchie walked four and allowed three hits over the first five innings, but he kept the Mariners scoreless until the sixth, when he walked two and then gave up a three-run homer to Luke Raley. That ended his evening at 93 pitches, only 47 of which were strikes. With a 13/12 K/BB through 17 1/3 innings, he certainly can’t be recommended in his next start Sunday against the Dodgers.

Ritchie was not as sharp here compared to his debut last week. In that start, he commanded both his curveball and changeup very well against their lefty-heavy lineup. Here, he didn’t have a great feel for either and struggled overall. The Tigers either threatened or scored a run in each of the first four innings and it took some nifty work by Ritchie to even hold them to three runs. He did have that unearned run on his ledger, but that came via his own throwing error on a pick-off attempt that brought a run home. If he gets another turn in the rotation, it would come next week against the Mariners. The Braves’ staff has plenty of moving parts right now though so keep track of any news that trickles out.

Ritchie will lock horns with two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal at Truist Park in his second big-league outing. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect was outstanding in his major-league debut, striking out seven while allowing two runs over seven innings against the Nationals last Thursday. Another strong performance would virtually ensure that he remains in Atlanta’s rotation for at least a couple additional terms. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats.

We knew that López’s spots in the rotation were changed to TBD, but now we know he will officially be in the bullpen for the time being. It’s unclear what mechanical issues López needs to work on, but this will open up a spot in the short-term for JR Ritchie, who will start on Wednesday. Martin Perez will also start on Tuesday; although, his spot could be taken by Spencer Strider within a week.

The 32-year-old hurler was pulled during the second inning during Tuesday’s loss to the Nationals and clearly isn’t right at the moment. The Braves could opt to keep rookie JR Ritchie in their rotation while allowing López to work through his issues in the bullpen. If fantasy managers were planning on starting him or streaming him for his two starts next week, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be making them.

He walked away with a win in his first start. Ritchie allowed solo shots to James Wood and C.J. Abrams and little else, though he was bailed out in the second inning by Daylen Lile being caught stealing after Drake Baldwin threw to second with runners on the corners and Lile drifted too far off third base. Ritchie averaged 94.7 mph with his fastball, but wound up leading with his curveball against a lefty-heavy Nationals lineup and generated a 27 percent whiff rate overall with a trio of secondaries. This start probably isn’t worth throwing out a huge chunk of the FAAB for, but Ritchie could get some runway in this rotation if the Braves start to believe in him. He’d look to be in line to start against the Tigers next week.

This was reported last night but is now official. Ritchie, the 79th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, had a 0.99 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 28/13 K/BB ratio across 27 1/3 innings over five starts for Triple-A Gwinnett this season. He will make his MLB debut on Thursday against the Washington Nationals. Even though Didier Fuentes struggled against the Nationals on Wednesday, Ritchie could be worth a stream. He has a much deeper pitch mix than Fuentes, including a curveball and cutter that he added last year. There’s a chance that he could pitch his way into a full-time role in Atlanta.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman confirms that Ritchie will be called up with Didier Fuentes heading back to the minors after needing 74 pitches to complete three frames during Wednesday’s win over the Nationals. His abbreviated outing forced veteran Martín Pérez, who was originally scheduled to start on Thursday, into duty for a long relief outing. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect has posted a sparkling 0.99 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 28/13 K/BB ratio across 27 1/3 innings over five starts for Triple-A Gwinnett this season. There’s some streaming appeal for fantasy purposes, but this figures to be a one-and-done situation for Ritchie.

Fantasy managers hoping to see top prospects Didier Fuentes or JR Ritchie will have to wait a bit longer. Pérez re-signed with Atlanta after being jettisoned from the club’s active roster earlier this week and electing free agency. The 35-year-old southpaw can be safely ignored in all fantasy leagues.

Pérez was designated for assignment by the Braves last week and passed through waivers unclaimed. He elected free agency but then resigned with Atlanta. While this may not seem like a big deal, it does mean that Pérez could be the starting pitcher called up when the Braves need a fifth starter again on April 21st. That would mean that Didier Fuentes and JR Ritchie could remain in the minors for longer than fantasy managers are hoping.