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00:00Braves prospect cracks MLB Pipeline's top 100 after breakout season.
00:05One of the brighter spots in what has otherwise been a season of frustration for the Atlanta Braves
00:10has been the meteoric rise of pitching prospect J.R. Ritchie.
00:14Just two years removed from Tommy John's surgery,
00:17the 21-year-old right-hander has not only bounced back, but surged forward,
00:21silencing doubts about his recovery and establishing himself as one of the Braves' most exciting young arms.
00:27Ritchie's 2025 campaign turned heads across the minors.
00:31Rising all the way to AAA Gwinnett, he posted a stellar 2.61 ERA across 25 starts,
00:38striking out 136 batters in 134.2 innings.
00:43He even represented the Braves at the Futures game,
00:46flashing the kind of electric stuff that scouts once projected when he was drafted.
00:51Despite Atlanta's rash of rotation injuries this season,
00:54the front office chose to keep him in the minors,
00:57a decision that signals their eyeing 2026 as his likely MLB debut.
01:03For much of the year, Ritchie's dominance went under the radar,
01:06as MLB Pipeline kept him off its top 100 prospects list.
01:10That snub didn't last.
01:12Following a wave of prospect graduations across the league,
01:15Ritchie finally broke through, landing at number 99 overall.
01:18It's a long-overdue nod for a pitcher who has steadily forced his way into the national spotlight.
01:24Atlanta's front office chief, Alex Anthopoulos,
01:27has often noted that he doesn't mind when the Braves' best prospects fly under the radar,
01:31citing Michael Harris II as a past example.
01:35But Ritchie's fastball slider change-up mix has been far too good to ignore,
01:39especially as he went through AAA lineups this summer.
01:41Once overlooked after elbow surgery, he's now being recognized as a future rotation anchor.
01:48Rankings are nice, but what really matters is what Ritchie means for the Braves' future.
01:53His emergence could help stabilize a rotation that's been riddled with injuries and inconsistency in recent years.
02:00And if his trajectory continues,
02:03Atlanta fans may not have to wait long to see him make his long-anticipated debut at Truist Park.
02:08J.R. Ritchie is no longer just a promising name in the minors.
02:13He's a top 100 prospect, a rising star, and potentially the next big thing in Atlanta's rotation.
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