JR Ritchie showing he belongs in Braves’ rotation

JR Ritchie was unfazed by the buildup to Wednesday. It was his first major league start at Truist Park. And he was opposing Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal, a consensus top-two pitcher in the sport.

The stage was ripe for nerves, at the very least. But Braves fans are quickly learning that the cool-and-collected approach is part of Ritchie’s brand.

By the end of his outing, those fans had further evidence that Ritchie’s mindset pairs nicely with his talent. It’s easy to see why many believe he’s positioned to help the Braves now and into the future.

The 22-year-old left the mound to a standing ovation in the sixth inning. He’d kept the Braves in the game against Skubal, leaving with his team trailing 3-2. The Braves ultimately won 4-3 on first baseman Matt Olson’s walk-off homer.

“That was pretty cool,” Ritchie said of the fan applause as he exited. “I love Braves country, they’ve treated me really well in my time here — my short time here, especially. But it was really cool to hear the roar of the crowd. I wish I pitched a little bit better for them, but regardless, that was really cool.”

In Ritchie’s major league debut, he navigated a hot Nationals’ lineup, surrendering two runs (on homers) in seven innings. It was a successful audition that warranted another look.

This time, he held the Tigers — who’ve been mediocre thus far but are expected to be an American League contender — to three runs (two earned) on five hits across 5⅓ frames. He struck out four and walked three.

“He had to really battle tonight,” manager Walt Weiss said. “That’s a tough lineup because they don’t really chase. You can see a lot of three-ball counts because they force you into the zone. I thought JR was making some good pitches, but they weren’t chasing. A lot of three-ball counts, deep counts, and the pitch count was getting up there.

“But he stayed in it and he was getting outs. He kept the game right there. That’s a great job by JR.”

It’s unsurprising that an inexperienced pitcher was forced into some longer battles. It’s encouraging that he minimized the damage in those spots; it often snowballs for younger pitchers, but Ritchie showed veteran-like savvy in gutting through a night that wasn’t his finest.

“I feel like I didn’t have my best command, didn’t have my best stuff,” he said. “I just wanted to keep my team in the game as long as I can. … I was really happy with how I battled. They laid off a lot of really good pitches and worked my pitch count up. So props to them on that.”

Ritchie hasn’t been flawless, but he’s been effective. He’s done well in persisting through some troublesome spots. He hasn’t appeared overwhelmed or out of his element at any point (even after giving up a home run on his first career pitch, an occurrence he now finds humorous).

He can say he’s been a legitimate contributor on MLB’s best team — and he’s made a compelling case for the team to continue investing in him by letting him pitch every fifth day.

What a sublime start for Ritchie, whose strong impression in spring training accelerated his rise to the major league rotation.

The Braves raved about Ritchie down in North Port, Florida. Cy Young winner Chris Sale led the charge, volunteering praise on multiple occasions. Sale had been impressed with Ritchie’s maturity when he saw him in Triple-A Gwinnett last year, and other teammates were exposed to Ritchie’s approach in spring.

The Braves have been blessed with numerous mature prospects over the years. It’s helped many achieve immediate major league success (Drake Baldwin and Spencer Schwellenbach are two recent examples).

“He’s got a bunch of different pitches that he mixes well, very composed on the mound,” Olson said. “It’s similar to how we talked about Schwellenbach when he first came up. Very calm, quiet. You can tell he has a plan and routines that he does to get right. I think he’s going to be a good pitcher.”

The Schwellenbach parallels are evident. Ritchie’s thought process even harks back to memories of Michael Soroka, whose mindset and diligence drew constant praise at ages 19 and 20. Ritchie might not be quite so nuanced, but his teammates and coaches laud his professionalism.

“He has a really good feel, well beyond his years,” Weiss said.

The Braves are inserting Spencer Strider back into their rotation this weekend. There was a chance roster mechanics could’ve led them to send Ritchie back to the minors, but Weiss indicated that won’t be the case.

Ritchie is slated to make his next start in his native Seattle against the Mariners. What a delightful opportunity for him to continue this story. His first three major league outings will have been his debut, his home debut and then his first start in his hometown.