Braves top two pitching prospects shine over the weekend in Gwinnett

Among the most exciting aspects of what’s to come in the final months of the Braves’ season is the many prospects that could make their way to Atlanta. Two of which opened up the second half for the Gwinnett Stripers over the weekend — Hurston Waldrep and JR Ritchie.

Waldrep, who is the elder statesman as far as top Braves pitching prospects are concerned, entered Friday night with a 2.41 ERA over his last six starts. Something he continued to build on with five innings of one-run ball.

Waldrep has now allowed just two runs over his last three starts (16 innings) and looks poised for a promotion whenever the Braves need him, which will likely be sooner rather than later, given four of the Braves’ best starting pitchers are on the IL and not expected back anytime soon.

On Saturday night, it was JR Ritchie‘s turn to impress, who was making his first start in AAA after being promoted from AA Columbus. Ritchie did allow three runs over six innings on five hits and one walk. But he also had six strikeouts, so it was an overall really strong performance considering the jump up in competition.

The outlook of the Braves’ 2025 season is grim, to say the least. There is no digging out of this hole over the second half, not with the guys that are currently on the IL. Everything is about the future.

If one of these high upside arms could impress in Atlanta down the stretch, it would ease a lot of the concerns about the Braves’ rotation going into the offseason, giving Alex Anthopoulos more flexibility to address other holes on the roster, which there are many.