The Braves made a couple of very intriguing promotions over the weekend. JR Ritchie, fresh off throwing a “Maddux” for High-A Rome, is moving up to AA Columbus. It’s a massive step for the 21-year-old that has only made 27 professional starts, but perhaps even more intriguingly, the hard-throwing Jhancarlos Lara has been promoted to AAA Gwinnett, and he’s now knocking on the door of the majors.

Per sources Jhancarlos Lara is set to be promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett. Massive move following the move to the bullpen.

Double plus fastball, plus slider

— Gaurav (@gvedak) May 11, 2025

On the surface, this promotion for Jhancarlos Lara might seem a little perplexing. He’s only 22-years-old, and his numbers for the Columbus Clingstones this season are nothing short of horrific. He boasts an 0-4 record with an 11.27 ERA, and opponents are hitting nearly .320 against him.

With that being said, most of those innings have come as a starting pitcher. A week ago, Jhancarlos Lara made the switch to the bullpen, and while his first outing in relief wasn’t very promising either (three earned runs over 1.2 innings), it’s evident the Braves believe in his stuff enough to promote him to Gwinnett in his new role.

That’s where things get exciting. Lara pumps easy gas, sitting from 99-102 on the radar gun with a good slider, a combination that can be deadly out of the bullpen. The Braves relief core has actually been better of late following a shaky start to the season, but they could still use another high-powered arm or two. Guys that can effortlessly throw the ball well over 100 MPH don’t grow on trees, and Atlanta is never hesitant to promote their talented arms. If Lara can find success in Gwinnett, he’s much closer to the majors than his surface level numbers suggest.

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Photo: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire