The Braves are turning to Jr Ritchie for Thursday afternoon’s game against the Nationals, promoting the pitching prospect to make the start in Washington after Didier Fuentes was optioned back to Triple-A Gwinnett in the corresponding move.
Atlanta had two openings on the 40-man roster and could select Ritchie’s contract without any other transaction. The move gives the Braves a spot starter for the finale of their four-game set in Washington, after a week that had already pushed the pitching staff hard.
Fuentes had just been recalled Wednesday morning and started that night, but he was chased after allowing seven hits and a walk over three innings. Martín Pérez then covered three innings of two-run ball in long relief, while José Suarez and Dylan Dodd had already pitched Tuesday and Reynaldo López finished only one inning Wednesday night. That workload left Atlanta with little appetite for another bullpen game.
Ritchie’s call-up comes after he emerged as Gwinnett’s best pitcher in the early going. The 2022 supplemental first-round draftee allowed three runs in his first 27 1/3 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett, struck out 26.2% of opposing hitters, and still showed enough command issues to walk 13 batters and hit four more. Even so, the Braves saw enough to move him up when they needed a starter most.
For Atlanta, the choice was practical as much as it was a reward. With the bullpen already stretched and the Nationals series heading to its final game, Ritchie gets his first chance to solve a major league problem before the club has to reach deeper into its pitching depth.
