Since coming onto the scene, Fuentes has been a name that has long intrigued Braves prospect followers. With a powerful fastball and solid mechanics, Fuentes has a lot of attributes to be excited about, despite questions about control and pitch mix.

How He was Acquired

The Atlanta Braves signed Fuentes out of Columbia as part of their 2022 international class and handed the then-17-year-old a modest $75,000 bonus.

What We Saw in 2024

Fuentes burst onto the Atlanta prospects scene in his first year as part of the organization. In 2022 — while pitching for the Braves’ Dominican Summer League squad — Fuentes started 11 games while striking out a staggering 10.23 batters per nine innings to go along with a stellar 2.94 FIP. He then got the bump to Low-A Augusta in 2023, where he appeared in 10 games — seven starts. While he struggled in a lot of areas — most notably with walks — Fuentes still showed the ability to miss bats, striking out 9.35 batters per nine in his first full pro season.

In 2024, the Braves decided to have Fuentes go back to Low-A to try and get his control managed and refine his overall abilities on the mound. That decision paid off, as the 19-year-old showed significant strides in his ability to command the strike zone and still strike batters out.

Across 18 games — 17 of which were starts — Fuentes saw his K/9 increase to a staggering 11.66, while watching his BB/9 drop from 4.15 in 2023, to 2.50 in 2024.

Fuentes’ best performance of the season came on June 19, when he tossed six innings of one-hit ball, striking out seven and walking none in the process.

2025 Outlook

Given his success at Augusta, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect Fuentes to begin his 2025 campaign in Rome, and given the fact he won’t be 20 until June, there’s no real reason to push him at High-A. The Braves will most likely allow him to settle in and see if he can replicate the same strikeout numbers and lower walk totals he showed last year in Low-A and — if he can — Atlanta might be aggressive with him and see if he can handle Mississippi towards the back end of the year.

One thing Fuentes will have to show in the near future, is a feel for additional pitches. For the most part in 2024, the righty lived off of a fastball/slider combo. While it was effective at Low-A — with the fastball ratcheting up to 98 miles per hour at times — Fuentes will have to show a more diverse arsenal if he wants to stick on the mound as a starter instead of being transitioned to the bullpen down the line.

Either way, this will be a huge year for Fuentes’ development and his impact on the Braves’ future plans.