MLB’s Next Big Thing? Braves Fast-Track Didier Fuentes to Big Leagues!

Braves Calling Up 20-Year-Old Prospect Didier Fuentes for Friday Start vs. Marlins

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are set to promote top pitching prospect Didier Fuentes for his MLB debut against the Miami Marlins on Friday, manager Brian Snitker confirmed Thursday. The team has yet to announce the corresponding roster move.

Fuentes, who just turned 20 on Tuesday, has climbed rapidly through the Braves’ system in 2024. He posted a 2.74 ERA over 75.2 innings in Single-A before advancing to High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, where he recorded a 4.81 ERA across 39.1 combined innings. In 2025, he’s struck out 28.9% of batters while walking just 7.2%.

“He throws strikes and has a fastball that really plays,” Snitker said. “He’s got poise beyond his years.”

Fuentes will become the youngest starting pitcher in the majors since Julio Urías debuted for the Dodgers at age 19 in 2016. He’ll also be the third-youngest starting pitcher for the Braves since the team moved to Atlanta, following Mike McQueen (1969) and Andrés Thomas (1985).

Snitker said the promotion is part of a plan to give the Braves’ rotation an extra day of rest during a taxing stretch of the schedule.

“Our guys have been logging a lot of innings,” Snitker noted. “We couldn’t work in breaks during that 17-game stretch, so this helps spread things out a bit.”

Atlanta’s rotation has thrown over 70 innings in the past two weeks — a boost for a bullpen that’s been heavily leaned on. On Wednesday, Chris Sale threw 8.2 scoreless innings against the Mets, his fourth straight outing with over 100 pitches.

Grant Holmes and Spencer Strider also went six-plus innings in their recent starts against Colorado, helping the Braves win six of their last eight heading into Thursday night’s series finale against the Mets. Strider, who is coming off a 13-strikeout game, takes the mound Thursday with a 4-1 record and a 5.58 ERA in his career vs. New York.

After the Mets series, the Braves begin a three-game set in Miami, followed by four more in New York and a three-game series in Philadelphia starting June 27 — a critical stretch in the NL East race.