Breakout players aren’t top 10 prospects, they’re the players a scout watched and liked enough to recommend despite not being the most trendy picks. If the crosscheckers agree, the player gets a shot. Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo dug into the prospects for every team looking for this year’s surprises and recommended three Atlanta Braves prospects as breakout candidates for the 2025 season.
Three young – really young - breakout prospects for the Braves in 2025
Baseball America does this evaluation before the start of every season. This year, three Braves prospects who spent at least part of last season with low-A Augusta, and only one of them will reach 21 this year got the nod.
Didier Fuentes - RHP - Rank 11 - FB: 60, SL: 50, SPLT: 45, CTL: 55, Grade: 45, Risk: High
The Braves signed Fuentes in January 2022, at 16 years 7 months. After turning 17 in June, he started 11 games for the DSL Braves, striking out 50 and walking 10 in 44IP.
In 2023, he joined Augusta and found the competition stiffer. He appeared in 10 games, made seven starts, and struck out 27 in 22 IP, but ended the season with a 7.62 ERA; it was a different story in 2024.
In 18 games (17 starts), he threw 75 2/3 innings, striking out 98 and walking 12 to end the year with a 2.74 ERA.
Fuentes features a low-to-mid 90s heater that touches 97 and gets a lot of swing and miss because of its shape and armside movement. He backs that up with a mid-80s slider and is working on a mid-80s splitter that could provide a useful secondary against left-handed hitters.
He throws strikes, doesn’t walk many, and makes adjustments along the way. It’s easy to see what Carlos says Fuentes has Major League starter potential, and why he selected him to have a breakout year.
John Gil - SS - Rank 12 - HIT: 50, POW: 40, RUN: 70, FLD: 50, ARM: 50, Grade: 50, Risk: Extreme
The Braves signed Luis Gil in 2023, and while everyone was watching Luis Guanipa, the 6’1, 175-pound Gil became the top international hitter in Atlanta’s system.
He was 18 when he started 2024 in the Complex League and appeared in 51 games for the FCL Braves, batting .286/.403/.389/.791. He found opposing pitchers tougher at Augusta, batting only .204/.298/.256/.553 in 159 PA over 39 games.
Gil’s a contact hitter who knows the strike zone and takes his walks, but he’s still hunting his power, which isn’t unusual for an 18-year-old in his first professional season. BA’s scouting report paints a picture of what we could see when he arrives.
Gil is a double-plus runner who gets out of the box quickly, went 40-for-48 (83.3%) on the bases and has great range at shortstop. He’s an instinctual defender with above-average hands and average arm strength…
Scouts say that his power will come and he fills out his frame, and Collazo suggests that he could move anywhere on the dirt or become a speedy outfielder if the Braves decided to change his position.
Davis Polo - RHP - Rank 19 - FB: 45, SL: 55, CH: 50, CTL: 55, Grade: 45, Risk: Extreme
Polo with the Braves in 2022 and spent that season in the DSL throwing 19 2/3 innings, striking out 26 and walking six. He moved to the FCL Braves in 2023, appearing in 13 games that included nine starts and throing45 innings with a 4.40 ERA, striking out 32 and walking 14.
He moved to Augusta in 2024 and threw 58 1/3 innings in 15 games (12 games), striking out 53 and walking 14.
He has great feel for a three-pitch mix…a 90-94 mph fastball that has touched 95…(he) threw it for strikes at a 71% clip and is confident attacking the top of the zone and using it to get ahead…His mid-80s gyro slider and…changeup were both solid secondaries. They generated swinging strike rates north of 22% and should allow him to find success vs. both lefties and righties…
Polo is 6’1 like Fuentes and turned 20 last October, but weighs only 150 pounds, so it’s reasonable to expect him to add power to his fastball as he gets stronger. He commands his pitches well – threw strikes 68% of the time in 2024 – making him a starter candidate.
Collazo ended his post by saying, “he's a breakout candidate for both the Braves and external scouts,” which suggests to me that he’s a potential trade piece in the Braves' search to fill needs on the big league roster.
That’s a Wrap
The breakout pitching candidates have a few things in common. They both throw strikes consistently, rarely walk anyone, and are still growing into their bodies.
Gil will add muscle as well, so provided he has a well-devised workout and maintains his speed, he could turn into a Major League starter. I hope they all have breakout years and that we see them in Atlanta soon.