Fuentes drawing comps to Strider in quest for rotation spot
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NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Didier Fuentes’ incredible Grapefruit League season has conjured memories of when the Braves saw enough of Spencer Strider's overpowering two-pitch mix in Spring Training to place him on their 2022 Opening Day roster.
“There's some parallels there,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. "For sure. The way that Strider broke in [the Majors].”
If Fuentes were to begin the season with Atlanta, it would seemingly make sense to utilize him out of the bullpen, just like Strider was for the first two months of the 2022 season. But for now, the Braves aren’t saying what their plans are for the 20-year-old pitcher, who has used his upper-90s fastball and hard slider to retire each of the past 26 batters he’s faced, 17 of them via a strikeout.
Fuentes (Atlanta's No. 3 prospect) had reason to be encouraged when he wasn’t included among roster moves made Friday night. Left-hander Dylan Dodd was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett and right-hander JR Ritchie (Braves' No. 2 prospect) was reassigned to Minor League camp.
With Dodd and Ritchie out of the picture, Fuentes, José Suarez and Martín Pérez look like the top three internal candidates for what appears to be two available spots on the pitching staff.
A key variable of the final pitching decisions is the fact the Braves play a game on 13 straight days to begin the season. This creates reason to argue the team may need to carry both a sixth starter and at least one additional multi-inning reliever.
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“The starters are built up, but they’re probably not going 100-plus [pitches] the first time out,” Weiss said. “We need to find ways to protect our bullpen and keep bodies here.”
The last part of that quote seems to favor Suarez, who is out of options, and Pérez, who will have the opportunity to opt out of his Minor League contract if he’s not guaranteed an Opening Day roster spot by noon on Saturday.
Preserving rotation depth has always been important, but it became even more vital for the Braves when they lost both Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep until at least late June (both due to right elbow surgery) and Joey Wentz for the season (torn right ACL) to injuries during Spring Training.
So, the Braves could opt to keep both Pérez, who was an All-Star starter in 2022, and Suarez, who allowed just one run over his final two Grapefruit League starts (9 1/3 innings). But that doesn’t rule out the possibility of seeing Fuentes at some point during the early part of the season.
Fuentes hit the first batter he faced this spring and has since retired 26 straight batters. He hasn’t issued a walk while recording 17 strikeouts over nine innings. His three combined appearances amount to what would be a no-hitter.
“He certainly has made his point,” Weiss said.