JR Ritchie will be called up to start for Braves against Nationals

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NORTH PORT, FL- FEBRUARY 22: JR Ritchie #92 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during a spring training game against the Minnesota Twins on February 22, 2026 at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images

At the end of the recap for tonight’s 8-6 Braves win over the Nationals, I mentioned that the process of getting through that game pitching-wise brought up some questions as to how they would deal with Thursday afternoon’s game. As it turned out, the Braves will be dipping into their prospect pool again in order to bring up one of the hottest prospects in the organization.

The 35th overall pick from the 2022 MLB Draft will be making his big league debut on Thursday night, as JR Ritchie has reportedly received the call and will be starting on Thursday afternoon against the Nationals.

The Braves are calling up No. 2 prospect JR Ritchie to start tomorrow against the Nationals. Ritchie ranks 71st overall on the most recent @BaseballAmerica Top 100 list.

— Geoff Pontes (@GeoffPontesBA) April 23, 2026

The move makes sense, primarily because Ritchie will be making this start on regular rest. He’s also been lights out for the Gwinnett Stripers in Triple-A so far, as he’s made five starts and tossed 27.1 innings while only giving up three earned runs compared to 28 strikeouts. He’s sporting an ERA of 0.99 and a FIP of 3.66 at that level and with the rotation being in a tough spot, the time has come for Ritchie to make a spot start.

According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Braves will be sending Didier Fuentes right back down to Triple-A in a corresponding move. The Braves have a tiny bit of room to add Ritchie to the 40-man roster without designating anybody for assignment so that should be the official move once it’s eventually announced by the club itself.

For now, it’s time to get excited as we’re going to see what Ritchie has to offer at the big league level. He’s certainly coming up in a challenging spot as this Nationals roster is tough to deal with and it’s on relatively short notice. With that being said, this is why the Braves drafted him this high and he’s looked great as he’s made his way through the minors. There’s a reason why there’s a lot of anticipation to see what Ritchie can do at this level and Thursday afternoon will be his big chance.

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