This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Less than halfway through this season, the Braves’ starting pitching depth is a significant concern. If they would currently need to add a starter, their top internal option would likely be Hurston Waldrep, who has at least shown some improvement while posting a 3.90 ERA over his past five starts for Triple-A Gwinnett.
What about Ian Anderson? The 2021 World Series hero has issued nine walks and totaled three strikeouts while totaling nine innings over his past two starts.
So, there’s reason to glance at which of the pitching prospects might become Major League-ready within the next year or two. Here is a look at two prospects who have been promoted since the start of the season.
LHP Cam Caminiti (Braves No. 1, MLB No. 69 prospect) Caminiti didn’t necessarily earn a promotion as much as he proved he was done with all of his preliminary work. The 18-year-old southpaw got a late start after battling arm discomfort in March. The four starts he made for the Florida Complex League team was essentially his Spring Training.
Caminiti’s debut for Single-A Augusta showed why the Braves were thrilled to grab him with the 24th overall selection in last summer’s MLB Draft. He struck out eight and allowed just one run over five innings against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Saturday night.
RHP JR Ritchie (Braves No. 6 prospect): Ritchie has posted a 3.26 ERA in the four starts he has made since being promoted to Double-A Columbus. The 22-year-old hurler began this year by posting a 1.30 ERA over seven starts for High-A Rome.
Ritchie was taken by Atlanta with the 35th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He underwent Tommy John surgery nine starts into his professional career. So, this is his first full unrestricted and healthy season as a pro.
This success has extended the promise Ritchie created when he worked a perfect first inning against three players from MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list -- Max Clark (No. 7), Kevin McGonigle (No. 23) and Thayron Liranzo (No. 82) during the Spring Breakout game against the Tigers in March.