JR Ritchie

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Atlanta Braves #4 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: A polished high school pitcher out of the Northwest, Ritchie was the back-to-back Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and worked with the same pitching coach as 2021 Phillies first-rounder Mick Abel. Ritchie ranked as the No. 52 prospect in the 2022 draft and signed with the Braves for $2.4 million in the supplemental first round. Atlanta acquired the 35th overall pick when it traded Drew Waters, Andrew Hoffmann and CJ Alexander to the Royals about a week before the 2022 draft.
  
  Scouting Report: Ritchie is nearly physically maxed out at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, but he requires less projection than most prep pitching prospects thanks to an advanced three-pitch mix and solid command. Ritchie sits in the low 90s with his fastball but touched 97-98 mph during the spring and got into the mid 90s during his pro debut, which culminated in three starts for Low-A Augusta. His fastball has just modest life and carry, though he has shown an ability to locate the pitch to both sides of the plate and change eye levels. Ritchie's secondaries are a low-to-mid 80s slider and a changeup in the same velocity band. Both are at least solid-average pitches that--like his fastball--he's shown impressive feel for. His slider has flashed above-average or plus potential in the past, though the shape of the pitch has come and gone depending on the start. Ritchie's slider generated a ton of whiffs in his brief pro debut and will likely be his most reliable out pitch moving forward.
  
  The Future: The Braves rave about Ritchie's advanced pitchability and mentality. He could start the 2023 season in either Low-A or High-A and it wouldn't be surprising to see him push to Double-A quickly in his age-20 season. Ritchie has back-of-the-rotation upside and a clear path as a starter.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 Slider: 55 Changeup: 50 Control: 55

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: A polished high school pitcher out of the Northwest, Ritchie was the back-to-back Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and worked with the same pitching coach as 2021 Phillies first-rounder Mick Abel. Ritchie ranked as the No. 52 prospect in the 2022 draft and signed with the Braves for $2.4 million in the supplemental first round. Atlanta acquired the 35th overall pick when it traded Drew Waters, Andrew Hoffmann and CJ Alexander to the Royals about a week before the 2022 draft.
  
  Scouting Report: Ritchie is nearly physically maxed out at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, but he requires less projection than most prep pitching prospects thanks to an advanced three-pitch mix and solid command. Ritchie sits in the low 90s with his fastball but touched 97-98 mph during the spring and got into the mid 90s during his pro debut, which culminated in three starts for Low-A Augusta. His fastball has just modest life and carry, though he has shown an ability to locate the pitch to both sides of the plate and change eye levels. Ritchie's secondaries are a low-to-mid 80s slider and a changeup in the same velocity band. Both are at least solid-average pitches that--like his fastball--he's shown impressive feel for. His slider has flashed above-average or plus potential in the past, though the shape of the pitch has come and gone depending on the start. Ritchie's slider generated a ton of whiffs in his brief pro debut and will likely be his most reliable out pitch moving forward.
  
  The Future: The Braves rave about Ritchie's advanced pitchability and mentality. He could start the 2023 season in either Low-A or High-A and it wouldn't be surprising to see him push to Double-A quickly in his age-20 season. Ritchie has back-of-the-rotation upside and a clear path as a starter.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 Slider: 55 Changeup: 50 Control: 55
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: A polished high school pitcher out of the Northwest, Ritchie was the back-to-back Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and worked with the same pitching coach as 2021 Phillies first-rounder Mick Abel. Ritchie ranked as the No. 52 prospect in the 2022 draft and signed with the Braves for $2.4 million in the supplemental first round. Atlanta acquired the 35th overall pick when it traded Drew Waters, Andrew Hoffmann and CJ Alexander to the Royals about a week before the 2022 draft.
  
  Scouting Report: Ritchie is nearly physically maxed out at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, but he requires less projection than most prep pitching prospects thanks to an advanced three-pitch mix and solid command. Ritchie sits in the low 90s with his fastball but touched 97-98 mph during the spring and got into the mid 90s during his pro debut, which culminated in three starts for Low-A Augusta. His fastball has just modest life and carry, though he has shown an ability to locate the pitch to both sides of the plate and change eye levels. Ritchie's secondaries are a low-to-mid 80s slider and a changeup in the same velocity band. Both are at least solid-average pitches that--like his fastball--he's shown impressive feel for. His slider has flashed above-average or plus potential in the past, though the shape of the pitch has come and gone depending on the start. Ritchie's slider generated a ton of whiffs in his brief pro debut and will likely be his most reliable out pitch moving forward.
  
  The Future: The Braves rave about Ritchie's advanced pitchability and mentality. He could start the 2023 season in either Low-A or High-A and it wouldn't be surprising to see him push to Double-A quickly in his age-20 season. Ritchie has back-of-the-rotation upside and a clear path as a starter.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 Slider: 55 Changeup: 50 Control: 55
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 55/Extreme
  
  August Update: Ritchie has been one of the top arms in the Northwest for years, as a polished righthander with a solid three-pitch mix. He’s a smaller pitcher, but has added an inch of height and some more weight since last summer and is now listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds. Ritchie has shown the stuff and performance throughout his career to fit as a top-two round talent in the draft. This spring, Ritchie was named the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year for the second straight season, after he posted a 0.30 ERA over 39.1 innings with 84 strikeouts and just four walks. Ritchie typically pitches in the low 90s, but this spring he has shown impressive top-end velocity and reached 97-98 mph at peak earlier in his starts. He’s shown an above-average slider in the past, but the pitch was more inconsistent this spring and looked like more of a solid-average offering in the low 80s. His changeup is thrown with similar velocity in the low 80s and he shows good feel to land the pitch, with solid arm speed. He has the control to profile as a starter and scouts have been impressed with his feel for all his pitches and general ability to move the ball around the zone. While there’s not much in the way of future physical projection with Ritchie, he has a polished trio of pitches and refined control to get the most out of them. Ritchie signed with the Braves for $2,397,500 after being selected with the 35th overall pick.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 50. Changeup: 50. Control: 55.