It has been fascinating to see how Walt Weiss has managed this Atlanta Braves pitching staff. Perhaps it is just because of the personnel available, but Weiss has been much more intentional when it comes to keeping guys from facing the order too many times and being unafraid to let guys keep going when they are throwing well, but yanking them at the first sign of trouble. On Tuesday, that quick trigger finger proved extremely helpful in the Braves' win over the Cubs on Tuesday.
The Cubs are a good baseball team; there is no denying that. They were going to put together some good at-bats against Grant Holmes, no matter what. However, Holmes clearly did not have his best stuff on Tuesday, and after four innings, it looked like disaster was coming if he took the mound again.
Well, he didn't. Instead, Weiss got him out of there and deployed the Braves' secret weapon this season in newly minted swingman Didier Fuentes, and he handled his business from there.
Didier Fuentes being able to come in as almost a second starter at any time gives the Braves a unique edge
In an ideal world. Fuentes would just be in the rotation as opposed to operating as a swingman/long reliever. However, Atlanta is desperate to preserve as much of their pitching depth as possible and to keep their guys healthy all season. For that to happen, they needed a long reliever they can trust to lock things down and allow them to have a quick hook for guys that need to get out of games.
In that role, Fuentes has been extremely good. Over his last five appearances, all out of the bullpen, Fuentes has given up a total of one earned run and just two hits in 8.2 innings of work. Having Fuentes and his low arm slot, who just tries to beat guys in the zone with power and elite extension, follow starters like Holmes and Martin Perez has to be jarring for opposing hitters, and the results speak to that.
In a way, the Braves have another version of Collin McHugh on their hands again, although much younger and with better stuff this go around. Fuentes' future is almost certainly as a starter, and we could see that change happen, depending on the health of others on the roster. However, for the moment, what the Braves are doing is working much better than expected, and they can thank Fuentes' successful adaptation for that.