Entering the season, 20-year-old Didier Fuentes was widely viewed as a top-100 prospect — a pitcher with legitimate frontline upside if everything clicks.
That ceiling was on full display during Spring Training, when Fuentes struck out 17 batters — yes, 17 — over just nine innings without allowing a run. The performance earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster, and in his first appearance out of the bullpen, he delivered four innings of long relief, allowing just one run.
Despite that, the Atlanta Braves opted to send him to Triple-A Gwinnett to stretch him out as a starter. Three weeks later, after posting a 2.16 ERA across three starts, Fuentes was back in Atlanta for his first MLB start — an outing that lasted just three innings and resulted in four earned runs.
He was optioned shortly after, then recalled less than a week later — this time back to the bullpen, where he’s remained. And to his credit, the results have been outstanding: three scoreless appearances without allowing a hit.
For now, that role appears set. Walt Weiss was asked before Monday’s game whether he’d be comfortable using Fuentes or Reynaldo López on back-to-back days — both starters to begin the year — and didn’t hesitate to say yes.
Given the emergence of Bryce Elder and JR Ritchie, along with the return of Spencer Strider, someone was always going to get squeezed out of the rotation. López made sense because of his track record in relief and recent durability concerns. Fuentes’ raw stuff also plays in shorter bursts.
But is this the right move this early?
Fuentes didn’t look far off from putting it together as a starter. The spring results were dominant. The Triple-A numbers backed it up. Even his struggles in the majors came with a short leash. Moving a 20-year-old with that kind of upside into the bullpen after one start feels… aggressive.
And it raises a bigger question — how confident are the Braves in this rotation?
Outside of Chris Sale, there aren’t many sure things. Strider is still working his way back. Grant Holmes has been inconsistent. Ritchie is a rookie. MartÃn Pérez is nearing 40. And asking Elder to sustain this level for five months is a leap.
It’s a group with questions — one that Fuentes could realistically elevate if given time to develop.
Now, maybe the Braves believe he’s best served learning in shorter stints against major-league hitters. That’s not an unreasonable thought. But starting and relieving are two entirely different development paths. If Fuentes stays in the bullpen, stretching him back out later becomes a challenge, especially when he hasn’t thrown more than 22 pitches in an outing for two weeks.
This isn’t about whether Fuentes can help right now. He clearly can.
It’s about whether the Braves are comfortable reshaping the development of a 20-year-old with frontline potential this early in the process — and whether that’s a decision they might regret when the rotation inevitably needs him later on.
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Photo: Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire
