Braves Officially Activate 'Quickly-Rising' Pitching Prospect to Start Friday

It's official. The Atlanta Braves added 20-year-old right-handed pitching prospect Didier Fuentes to the major league roster Friday morning.

To make room for Fuentes, the Braves also announced designating right-hander José Ruiz for assignment.

The #Braves today selected RHP Didier Fuentes to the major league roster and designated RHP José Ruiz for assignment.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 20, 2025

Fuentes received the call-up to the Major Leagues after just one Triple-A start at Gwinnett. But in that outing, Fuentes allowed one run on a solo homer, three hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 4.2 frames.

Combining that outing with his other minor league appearances this season, Fuentes has a 4.81 ERA and 1.119 WHIP with 48 strikeouts in 39.1 innings.

SI on Braves' Harrison Smajovits reported Thursday the Braves were adding Fuentes to the roster to start Friday night's game against the Miami Marlins. Smajovits referred to the right-hander as "quickly rising" through the Atlanta system.

"Fuentes is now the Braves' No. 10 prospect in their system and has been quickly rising through the ranks this season. He began his season with High-A Rome and moved up a level every few starts. The 20-year-old righty seriously began to catch attention during his performance during the Spring breakout in March," wrote Smajovits.

The Braves didn't sustain an injury in their rotation, so it's not clear how long Fuentes will remain in the MLB. It might just be for his debut Friday night.

With the spot start, the healthy pitchers in the Braves rotation will receive an extra day of rest.

But if Fuentes impresses as he did in his first Triple-A start, the 20-year-old could force Atlanta's hand, giving the organization little choice but to keep him with the big club.

Fuentes joined the Braves as a international free agent in 2022, signing a $75,000 contract out of Columbia. In addition to his Triple-A debut, Fuentes also pitched at Double-A this season for the first time.

Ruiz has made two relief appearances for Atlanta this season. He pitched a scoreless frame on June 10 versus the Milwaukee Brewers while allowing just one base runner. But on Sunday, he yielded three runs on two hits and two walks in an inning against the Colorado Rockies.

The Braves will enter Friday night fresh off a sweep of the New York Mets. Atlanta has won six of its last seven games.