ATLANTA -- Didier Fuentes was expecting to make his scheduled start for Triple-A Gwinnett until he received a phone call around 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Less than 12 hours later, the 20-year-old phenom came out of the Truist Park bullpen and helped the Braves stay hot with a 5-2 win over the Tigers.
“He helped us win a game tonight,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He was a big part of us winning that game, putting those two innings down. So it was great that he was here.”
The better news for Fuentes is that he’ll likely stay at the Major League level after throwing just 22 pitches (12 strikes) over two scoreless innings against Detroit. Even though he might not be available to come out of the bullpen on Wednesday, Weiss has plenty of other multi-inning relief options in Carlos Carrasco, José Suarez and Reynaldo López, who was recently removed from the rotation.
How did the Braves end up entering this series with four long relief options? Well, Fuentes became a part of this unique construction early Tuesday morning, when the Braves learned top left-handed reliever Dylan Lee needed to be put on the paternity list.
Fuentes (Braves' No. 3 prospect, MLB No. 91) has remaining Minor League options, unlike James Karinchak, a traditional relief option who could join Atlanta’s bullpen at some point this season. Yeah, the Braves might have taken a slight risk by eliminating Fuentes as an emergency starting pitching option over the next couple of days.
But it was a calculated risk that paid dividends when Martín Pérez held the Tigers scoreless for five innings and Fuentes kept the shutout bid alive through the seventh. Suddenly, Weiss no longer had a short-handed bullpen. He handed the ball to his top right-handed setup man Tyler Kinley in the eighth. Ozzie Albies’ two-run homer in the bottom half of the frame allowed Weiss to use Aaron Bummer instead of closer Robert Suarez in the ninth.
“Didi did a heck of a job bridging it to Kinley,” Weiss said. “I could have went a few different ways there. But I like the power from Didi. He came in and threw the ball really well.”
Fuentes threw 18 four-seam fastballs during his 22-pitch effort. The heater touched 98.9 mph and averaged 97.2 mph. A two-out walk to Riley Greene in the sixth inning accounted for the Tigers’ only baserunner during his two innings.
“Pitching out of the bullpen has already helped me a lot,” Fuentes said. “My preferred role is as a starter. But whatever the team needs me to do or however I can help the team to win, I’m here to do it.”
With closer Raisel Iglesias on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, Lee unavailable for the next couple of days and López making the transition from starter to reliever, Weiss will continue to work with a unique bullpen construction.
Once Lee is ready to rejoin Atlanta’s bullpen, the most likely roster casualty would be Carrasco. When Spencer Strider is ready to be activated from the injured list, likely this upcoming weekend, Joel Payamps and José Suarez would be candidates to be designated for assignment.
Suarez’s expected statistics indicate a chance for some upside, and there will be a need for a long reliever. Pérez could fill that role once Strider is activated. But should Pérez really be removed from the rotation? The veteran lefty has posted a 2.14 ERA in four starts and a 2.22 ERA over six appearances.
As for Fuentes, he could continue to be a multi-inning option over the next few days. But unless an injury creates an immediate rotation need, he’ll likely soon return to Gwinnett to continue the development that could make him a top-flight starter in Atlanta for years to come.
“He’s a good kid and he’s still learning,” Pérez said. “He’s got good pitches. He goes out there and competes. He’s always positive. He's not scared.That means he’s going to have a big future.”