This year’s All-Star Futures Game is set to take place on All-Star Saturday on July 12. The Atlanta Braves were already going to be well-represented with a bunch of legends and alumni agreeing to serve as coaches for the game. Now that the rosters have been revealed for both leagues, we now have an idea of who will be representing the Braves with their actions between the lines.
As it turns out, it’ll be two pitchers. Hayden Harris and JR Ritchie have both been selected to the National League roster for this year’s All-Star Futures Game.
For JR Ritchie, this isn’t his first go-around when it comes to receiving some of the spotlight so far this season and it’s not particularly surprising to see him get selected for this game. Ritchie was not just part of the Spring Breakout roster that looked to highlight various prospects during this past spring training, he was the starter in that game as well. Ritchie entered this season as one of the consensus top prospects in the system and he’s fared pretty well as he’s gone from the High-A Rome Emperors to the Double-A Columbus Clingstones. He left Rome with an ERA of 1.30 and a FIP of 3.47 over 41.2 innings pitched at that level in 2025 and he’s now on a 4.01 ERA and a 4.23 FIP over 33.2 innings so far.
One thing that has remained consistent is his strikeout rate — he was punching out batters at a rate of 8.21 per nine innings in High-A and that’s actually gone up to 8.82 per nine innings against Double-A competition. Our minor league staff here at Battery Power had Ritchie tabbed as a potential breakout candidate this season (oh yeah, MLB Pipeline did as well) and so far, he’s been living up to expectations in that department and will now get an opportunity to show off his stuff at Truist Park during the Futures Game.
Meanwhile, Hayden Harris has steadily improved his lot in baseball life on his own and this will serve as his highest-profile showcase in his professional career. The Braves signed him as an undrafted free agent back in 2022 and he’s one of those cases where his mere arrival to the big leagues will make this signing a win for Atlanta considering how they got him into the organization. He’s officially knocking on that door as well, as he got promoted to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers after dominating with the Clingstones to the tune of producing an ERA of 0.79 and a FIP of 1.05 over 22.2 innings in 2025.
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He’s only pitched seven innings since getting promoted earlier this month but he still has yet to give up a run while striking out 9 batters per nine innings with a 100 percent strand rate so far. Harris has continuously boosted his own stock with his performances on the field and now he’s going to get a chance to continue making a name for himself as he’s been named to this year’s NL Futures roster.
Marquis Grissom Jr. isn’t a Braves prospect but he’s on the NL squad and his presence in the game is going to have slight hint of Braves flavor to it as well since Marquis Grissom Sr. will be a member of the AL coaching staff for this Futures Game. That wasn’t really too relevant to the news concerning actual current Braves players but it was just fun to mention. The game is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. ET on July 12 at Truist Park.
