Saturday, May 02

ATLANTA --  If you’re interested in becoming the president of the JR Ritchie Fan Club, be prepared to stand in line.

“You can ask my wife, I’ve been talking about Ritchie since last summer,” Braves ace Chris Sale said. “Every time I showed up [while rehabbing] in Gwinnett last year, he was doing something to get better at baseball. That’s always going to put some chips in my bag.”

Sale will be among the many folks excited to see Ritchie experience the thrill of making his next start against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. This is the stadium the Seattle-area native frequented throughout his childhood and visited as recently as this past October, when he was among those who stayed until the end of Seattle’s 15-inning win over the Tigers in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.

“That's pretty unbelievable,” Ritchie said. “I'd be lying if I said I had not thought about it. It's always one start at a time. I'm always focused on dealing with the team at hand. But yeah, it's definitely been in the back of my mind. Seattle has a very special place in my heart. It always will, just being from there. So I’m really looking forward to it.”

Ritchie has certainly earned the chance to make a third career start. The only question was whether the Braves might send him down to add more bullpen depth for this weekend’s series at Coors Field. But manager Walt Weiss quickly shot down that option when asked.

“I think you’ve got to be careful throwing away starters, especially young ones that pitch well,” Weiss said. “We’ll figure out the recipe for this road trip when we start off in Colorado. But yeah, [Ritchie] has certainly made a case for himself.”

There’s often reason to debate whether any player, especially a pitcher, could benefit from more seasoning at the Minor League level. But from a maturity and poise standpoint, Ritchie has proven he can more than capably handle himself in the Majors.

James Wood drilled Ritchie’s first career pitch into the seats at Nationals Park on April 23. The 22-year-old responded by allowing just one more run over seven innings. In Wednesday night’s win at Truist Park, he minimized damage and pitched out of trouble while allowing the Tigers just two runs, despite surrendering five hits and issuing four walks over 5 1/3 innings.

“I’ve talked about his composure a lot, that’s what sticks out to me,” Weiss said. “He looks pretty unflappable as a young kid in this league and that’s going to serve him as he puts together a career here.”

Ritchie’s maturity and early success are even more impressive given that you can argue this would be just his second full unrestricted season in pro ball. The 2022 first-round pick made four starts in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery that limited him to 12 appearances (11 starts) in 2024. So, his first full season occurred last year, when he successfully rose from High-A to Triple-A.

Now, he finds himself with the opportunity to continue learning from Sale and the rest of the Braves veterans.  

“[Sale] has been really great to me,” Ritchie said. “He’s been a really great mentor.”

Who holds the record for most multi-homer games as a Braves player at Coors Field? 

A) Andruw Jones 

B) Eddie Pérez

C) Chipper Jones 

D) Justin Upton

Remember when the season started and the Braves didn’t have enough starting pitching? I’ll stop here. Never tempt the baseball gods, especially just one month into the season. So, what I meant to say is, despite everything going well so far, you can still never have too much starting pitching.

But given the concerns that developed when the Braves lost four starting pitchers to injuries during Spring Training, isn’t it funny to think we can now debate how to fit Spencer Strider on the roster and within the rotation when he makes his season debut on Sunday at Coors Field?

The primary question is whether the Braves will use Martín Pérez as their long reliever going forward. The veteran lefty has a 2.14 ERA in four starts. But as long as Ritchie is pitching well, Pérez could be used as another multi-inning option in the bullpen.

If so, Ritchie (Monday), Bryce Elder (Tuesday) and Grant Holmes (Wednesday) would serve as the starters during next week’s series in Seattle. Sale (May 8), Strider (May 9) and Ritchie (May 10) would all still be working with an extra day of rest during the following series at Dodger Stadium.

The Braves could keep Pérez as a starter and go with a six-man rotation, but Weiss has said he doesn’t like how this setup often leaves you short in the bullpen.

If Pérez moves to the long relief role, Didier Fuentes would likely go back to Triple-A Gwinnett to continue working as a starter.

The first 15,000 fans in attendance for the May 12 game against the Cubs will receive a Braves Hawaiian Shirt. Sizes adult large and adult extra-large available.

Answer: A) Andruw Jones

Jones is the only Braves player to have more than one multi-homer game at Coors Field. He enjoyed his first on April 20, 1998, and his second on Sept. 23, 2006. He and Chipper Jones share the Braves record for the most homers (13) hit at Coors Field, but Chipper never had a multi-homer game at the offensive haven.

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