On top of a fantastic Braves win over the Mets on Thursday, one of the club’s top prospects shined on the mound for the Gwinnett Stripers.

No matter which prospect outlook you prefer, you’ll find JR Ritchie within the Braves top three prospects, and pretty soon, he should be viewed as a top 100 prospect overall. He’s now over a year removed from returning from Tommy John surgery, and the stuff is beginning to appear damn close to being major-league ready, flashing a 97 MPH fastball with a wide array of secondary offerings.

Ritchie began the season in High-A Rome and has jumped all the way to Gwinnett, needing just 15 starts to do so. He turned in his best performance as a Striper last night, tossing six scoreless innings in which he allowed just three baserunners with six strikeouts.

Across all three levels — spanning 108.1 innings — Ritchie boasts a 2.74 ERA with a really impressive 0.951 WHIP and 8.6 K/9. In Gwinnett, he owns a 3.21 ERA over five starts with a WHIP that has remained below one.

Given this is by far the most innings JR Ritchie has pitched in a single season, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Braves decided to shut him down in the near future. Which is unfortunate, because there’s a case to be made that he’s earned an opportunity to get a start in Atlanta down the stretch.

However, Braves fans won’t have to wait much longer to see Ritchie in the bigs. He should make his MLB debut at some point in 2026.

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Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire