Didier Fuentes Is Atlanta’s Most Intriguing Pitching Option

It took only three games in High-A, still at 19 years old, for him to prove he was ready for a promotion. Being one of the younger players in Double-A, Fuentes held his own despite getting hit around a bit.

Seeing the potential in Fuentes’ arm at such a young age and knowing he ran into a bit of bad luck that inflated his Double-A numbers, Atlanta pushed him up to Triple-A.

Fuentes made the most of his five starts in Gwinnett, which was quite impressive as he was still just a teenager.

As he was making a name for himself in the minor leagues, Atlanta’s big league rotation began to fall to injury. One by one, all five of the Braves’ Opening Day starters landed on the 60-day IL at some point during the season. They needed help to get through the schedule.

Three days after his 20th birthday, Didier Fuentes made his big league debut.

His debut did not go as hoped, but then again, at barely 20 years old, he was not even supposed to be there. Just after four appearances, he was sent back down to Triple-A, where he would remain for the rest of the season.

The important part is this: The Braves saw enough to put him on the 40-man roster and give him a real look. That alone tells you what they think of his potential.

Why Fuentes’ Stuff Jumps Off the Screen

Fuentes is not your typical Braves pitching prospect. He brings velocity unlike most others in the system.

The fastball sits mid to upper 90s and can touch 99 with room to grow. It has real life up in the zone and plays even better because of his lower release point. Minor league hitters had no chance against it.

However, big league hitters bat .486 against his fastball and only whiffed 18.8% of the time. Throwing this pitch at roughly a 58% clip, if he can have the success he had in the minors, we should expect better results moving forward.

So far this spring, he has averaged 97.2 mph with 15.7 IVB on 45 pitches thrown. Success has come with it, as he has recorded a 37.5% chase rate and a 40% whiff rate on the four-seamer.

His slider is the real weapon right now. Averaging 87/88 mph, he typically throws it 25-28% of the time to great success. Big leaguers hit just .188 and slugged just .375 against the sweeping slider, recording an impressive 33.3% whiff rate on 80 thrown last season.

This pattern has continued during spring training, recording a 38.5% chase rate and a whopping 50.0% whiff rate.

The rest of his arsenal is still a work in progress. Fuentes has flashed a curveball that he only threw 11% of the time, which dips down to 79 mph. He threw just 35 of them last season in the big leagues, but only gave up two hits and recorded an encouraging 35.7% whiff rate. However, this spring, he has yet to debut the pitch.

Atlanta has seemingly fallen in love with the splitter as an organization, and Fuentes has used this in-game as well. It is still well behind the rest of his arsenal, however. This spring, he has thrown five of them, averaging 88.8 mph, but has yet to land in the zone or record a whiff.

If this archetype sounds familiar, it should. To me, he looks a lot like a very early version of Spencer Strider. The high velocity fastball produces whiff. A wipeout slider. The need to continue to develop another pitch.

For reference, Strider did not make his first minor league appearance until age 22, and Schwellenbach at age 23. Fuentes is still 20 years old. The possible ceiling here is higher than many outside of Braves Country have yet to realize.

The Case To Break Camp

A lot of people saw his four big league appearances last year and decided he is not ready. He probably was pushed a little fast last year, but now that he has been there. This spring has been loud, and you can’t ignore the progress.

In his first appearance this spring vs. the Baltimore Orioles, he shoved. Over two innings, he gave up zero hits, runs, or walks while striking out four. His fastball averaged 97.4 mph with 16 IVB, producing a 70% whiff rate.

Then, against the New York Yankees, he shoved again. He yet again gave up zero hits, runs, or walks over the course of three innings and struck out five. And it was not against minor leaguers either; he got Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, Ryan McMahon, and Oswaldo Cabrera to K. This time, it was the slider that impressed, producing a 67% whiff rate.

Small sample, sure. But it passes the eye test. He looks more mature, both physically and mentally, on the mound.

So, what do you do with him?

JR Ritchie has also impressed this spring, but he has yet to be placed on the 40-man roster. Owen Murphy will need more time in the minors before earning a debut. However, Fuentes has started his clock and has sniffed the majors already.

Atlanta does not have to force him into the rotation immediately. They have a blueprint they have used in the past that would be perfect for Didier Fuentes.

Remember mentioning he looks like an early version of Spencer Strider? Well, they have the opportunity to use that same exact path.

Let him break camp in the bullpen. Let him throw multiple innings in relief during the first part of the season and build confidence and experience against big league hitters. Then, when you inevitably need a spot start, he is ready to step right into the role.

In 2021, Strider made his big league debut out of the bullpen near the end of the season. He pitched a total of 2.1 innings, giving up two hits, one run, one walk, and zero strikeouts across two outings.

In 2022, he made the first 11 appearances of the season out of the bullpen, averaging 2.2 innings per outing while eclipsing three innings pitched four times. In his 11 bullpen outings, he posted a 2.22 ERA and 1.18 FIP, while striking out 37 batters and walking only 11.

On May 30th, Strider entered the rotation and finished with a total of 20 starts, posting a 2.77 ERA, 1.92 FIP, averaged 8.3 Ks and 1.7 walks per outing, and finished runner-up to teammate Michael Harris II in the Rookie of the Year race.

In Alex Anthopoulous’ media availability before spring training, my good friend Lindsay Crosby with Braves Today asked him about his willingness to use prospects in this type of fashion:

“We’ve done with guys over time. I think like anything else we talk about it all the time. I actually, in a perfect world, I think it’s a great way to work guys in. You look at way back in the 80s, 90s, early 2000s a lot of guys broke in out of the pen. Even talking to guys like Fried he thought it was great for him. Just coming in and learning to attack. I think guys like Reynoldo López got better as a result of it.”

Sounds great, but he then explained why they have not done so as of late. It is all about balancing need at the big league level and a pathway to development in the minors.

“In the minor leagues, you stick to these guys in the rotation from a development standpoint, right? Even though you ultimately might believe that they’re relievers, you want them to get as many reps as they can, as many innings as they can have, bullpens, side work, go deep into the games. You have a guy in the minors who’s a one-inning reliever, you might have a 10-pitch inning and not really get to work on things.”

It may not be the traditional starter path, but Atlanta has used this to ramp up not only Strider, but AJ Smith-Shawver and Max Fried in the past, to success as well. It has been done before, and should be done again.

Fuentes has already proven he can handle every level he has been pushed to thus far. He has already gotten a taste of the majors. And right now, he looks much better than he did the last time he was there.

At some point, you stop waiting. You just give him the ball.