Coming into today’s matchup, the Braves were coming off of a strong win but one where the bullpen was taxed after Didier Fuentes was removed after three innings – just a single day after Reynaldo Lopez struggled through a little more than an inning of work.
The Braves were looking for a hero – enter Battery Power No. 2 prospect JR Ritchie, who did just that. He not only limited the No. 2 offense in the league to just five hits and two runs but also giving the team much needed length as he navigated through seven innings while making a bit of franchise history.
What’s so impressive about JR Ritchie this season is that there is no formulaic recipe for success. If we take a look at his last start in Gwinnett (6IP 3H 0R 3BB 8K), Ritchie struggled with his fastball and slider command, his changeup was a non-factor against left handed hitters so he focused on his curveball and used it to not just get ahead, but put away hitters. This ability to recognize that a certain pitch isn’t working, and being able lean on another one shows maturity beyond his age and I’m sure was a reason that led to the Braves promoting him.
While Ritchie may not have a stand alone elite pitch – his ability to use any of his six at any point in time allows him to stay in control and lean on what is working best and we saw that immediately. After a grooved four-seam pitch that was deposited in the stands by James Wood, Ritchie immediately leaned on his curveball and changeup to quickly retire Luis García Jr., and regain composure on the mound. This confidence in being able to throw any of his pitches at any times allows JR Ritchie to be the one in command on the mound, allowing for good sequencing as long as the command is there. JR used the same pitch at least two times in a row just twelve times this game – again showing confidence not just his catcher and their game plan, but also in himself.
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While his four-seam isn’t the strongest pitch, with an IVB of 13.9” and coming in around 94 MPH, his ability to command it in the upper third of the zone, as well as to all the quadrants is a great strength. Once he establishes that, he’s able to then either go with his slider or changeup, depending on the handedness of the hitters, before ultimately deploying his plus curveball that had a 43% whiff rate today. Let me say that another way – nearly half of the curveballs he threw (25) were swung at and missed. As if that weren’t enough, his changeup showed average to plus, and he also threw in a cutter (7), and sinker (4).
The best thing to happen out of today was that this kind of performance is absolutely repeatable for the young pitcher. There was nothing that stuck out from today’s game – this is exactly who JR Ritchie is as a pitcher. Nothing elite, but four good offerings, and two more (cutter, sinker) he can use when the occasion rises. JR lives in and around the zone with all six pitches, making for uncomfortable at bats because hitters can’t truly key in on a single pitch in any single at bat. He’s able to locate nearly each pitch to every single quadrant not allowing hitters to really hone in on a single pitch, in a single location. His ability to do that exact thing leads this author to say, hopefully this is the beginning of a very illustrious career for JR Ritchie.
