At 20 years old, Didier Fuentes is the third-youngest player in MLB this season, but he certainly hasn't been pitching like someone who is younger than most 2026 draft prospects. Although it looked the Braves initially planned to have the youngster spend most of the 2026 season in the minor leagues working as a starter, that plan has seemingly gone out the window.
Since being called back up from the minors on April 28, the righty has been used exclusively as a reliever, and he's simply been too dominant to send back down.
Didier Fuentes is making hitters look foolish
After being send up and down twice before the end of April, Fuentes' third recall of the season looked to be similar to his first, where he could possibly start games, or at at the very least, cover multiple innings.
At first, that looked like was indeed the plan. Fuentes pitched two innings against the Tigers on April 28, then after two single inning appearances on May 1 and May 3, Fuentes made two multi-inning relief appearances on May 6 and May 12. In his first five appearances after being recalled, Fuentes pitched 8.2 innings, allowing just a single run.
Since May 12, however, Fuentes has not pitched multiple innings once. While it could have certainly been in the cards on May 15, when the Braves went into extras, and on May 24, where Fuentes outing was cut short by rain, the other three appearances' purpose was clear: pitch one inning and get outs.
Fuentes did that. Whether it was to cover an extra inning when Aaron Bummer couldn't, or whether it was to give other high leverage relievers extra rest, as he did against the Marlins and Nationals, Walt Weiss has found a reliever he can depend on that isn't Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, or Dylan Lee.
This season, Fuentes has made 11 appearances as a reliever covering 16.2 innings, and has only allowed two runs. His 1.08 ERA as a relief pitcher is the 11th-best in all of MLB among pitchers in relief outings. It's 0.03 runs better than his teammate, Dylan Lee, who ranks 12th.
Although Walt Weiss isn't likely to turn to Fuentes in a save situation, the righty has clearly earned the respect of his manager, who is willing to turn to him in a tie game in the sixth inning, or with the game on the line in extra innings. The young Braves swingman isn't a last resort in this situation, but rather the first option to help bridge the Braves to their elite back end of the pen, or the first choice after those arms have been used.
Although Fuentes will eventually get his chance to shine as a starting pitcher, he's currently taken the same road his current teammate Chris Sale took when the nine-time All-Star first came up, getting a chance to shine as a reliever.
Add us as a preferred source on Google