With the Atlanta Braves in the middle of a 10-game stretch without a day off, the team was certainly hoping for a longer start from Reynaldo Lopez, especially with their closer Raisel Iglesias hitting the IL before their Tuesday game.
Instead, Lopez was hammered for four runs, and was pulled in the second inning before he could even record an out, leaving the bullpen to cover at least 21 outs. While this did mean Atlanta was able to stay away from their high-leverage arms, they did have to use five relievers, with Payamps, Hamilton, and Suarez throwing at least 25 pitches.
With the bullpen taxed, the door is now open for top pitching prospect Didier Fuentes to return to the big league squad.
Didier Fuentes is next in line (or should be anyways) to join the Braves
Fuentes was scheduled to start for the Gwinnett Stripers this past Sunday, but was scratched right before his start. Mark Bowman reported that the Braves were wanting to have some flexibility out of the pen in the coming week.
After the Braves needed Jose Suarez, Dylan Dodd, Aaron Bummer, Ian Hamilton, and Joel Payamps to get through Tuesday's loss, it seems inevitable that the team will bring up another pitcher in the coming days to give the Braves some more length out of the bullpen. With Fuentes well rested, it seems natural that he'll be the arm Atlanta turns to.
Although Dylan Dodd is currently the only reliever aside from Dylan Lee with options, the Braves could also opt to DFA Ian Hamilton who was unimpressive in his Braves debut, walking two batters and allowing three runs.
Fuentes was excellent in his lone game with the Braves this season, allowing just one run in four innings. After being sent to the minors to get regular starts, he has continued his excellence. In three starts, he has a 2.16 ERA while striking out 31.7% of the batters he faced.
If Fuentes does indeed join the roster while the Braves are in Washington, D.C., he will likely once again be acting as a long reliever, but the top prospect's performance might make it hard to keep him down in the minors permanently for very long.
Add us as a preferred source on Google