Bainbridge High School graduate J.R. Ritchie was recently promoted to the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A team (Gwinnett Stripers) after starting the MLB Futures Game July 12, where he struck out two batters in an inning of work.

Ritchie found out two days prior that he was going to start in the Futures Game.

“It was unbelievable,” Ritchie said. “I just had the time of my life being able to be around so many Braves legends and then just a lot of great players.”

Ritchie approached the Futures Game by drawing a “fine line” between having too much fun and still being able to get work in. He noted that it’s easy to get caught up in having too much fun and not taking things seriously, but also being too serious and not enjoying the moment.

The 22-year-old right-hander is inching closer to being called up to the big leagues, with the recent promotion to the Gwinnett Stripers. However, Ritchie does not concern himself with the next step, focusing more so on the task at hand and “where my feet are.”

So far this season, Ritchie has played for the Rome Emperors (Braves High-A team) and the Columbus Clingstones (Braves Double-A team) and has been impressive with a 5-4 record, 2.35 Earned-Run Average, and 79 strikeouts in 80.1 innings pitched as of July 17.

In an attempt to surround himself with players and coaches who would help him continue to grow, Ritchie trained at Rokke Physical Therapy in Portland, OR, to help him find the right lifting and conditioning routines in an effort to get his body in a good position after rehabbing from a UCL injury he sustained in May of 2023.

Ritchie also worked with his pitching coach, Kevin Gunderson, who has been Ritchie’s pitching coach since Ritchie was a sophomore in high school.

“He’s a great coach, he knows me really well,” Ritchie said. “So being able to spend a lot of time down there [in Portland] and time with him to, I guess, attack the weaknesses and just get better all around. It was a really big offseason for me, and I’m really happy with how that went.”

The 2022 BHS graduate also noted that he listens to music before he goes out to pitch in order to get himself fired up and ready to go pitch. Ritchie has a playlist called ”Bump Day’ that he’s had since he was a junior in high school.

On ‘Bump Day,’ Ritchie has a variety of different artists on there, featuring bands like Nirvana and Foo Fighters as well as rappers like Future and Playboi Carti.

Ritchie’s walkout song has been ‘Everlong’ by Foo Fighters, and he always listens to it before he heads out to the field. ‘Everlong’ was the last song J.R. listened to before he entered the game where he tore his UCL, and it was playing in the stadium as he was walking out.

‘Everlong’ serves as a “tribute to the process” for Ritchie for going through Tommy John surgery and having a year off from throwing, citing that the song and the process made him a “better person, better player, and better pitcher.”

“Every time I hear that song, I just feel grateful for the process,” Ritchie said. “I’m grateful to actually be able to throw and play the game because, you know, it got taken away for a year.”