Braves Top-10 Prospect Struggles But Shows Flashes in Major League Debut

Fuentes struggled in the early innings of his debut before settling in to finish his debut

Fuentes fulfilled his role, but the Braves lose the opener | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Didier Fuentes struggled early on in his major league debut as the Atlanta Braves fell to the Miami Marlins 6-2 on Friday in the series opener. That loss snaps a three-game winning streak, and the Braves lose their first series opener since June 6.

Fuentes pitched five innings, allowed four runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three. He threw 58 of his 87 pitches for strikes. His fastball showed some life, sitting around 96 mph and maxing out at 98. His command wasn't always there with it; he missed high in the zone at times. However, his curveball and sweeper saw some success early on.

Manager Brian Snitker wanted to give the rest of the starting rotation an extra day of rest. Fuentes helped make it happen and gave fans a preview of the future names in the rotation. Regardless of how his debut went, he got a night in his life that he'll never forget. For a pitcher who just turned 20 and had one Triple-A start heading into this call-up, you can argue this was a very successful debut.

Even with the struggles early on, looking at the overall stats won't tell the whole story. Fuentes pitched a scoreless first inning of work before getting into trouble in the second and third innings. After picking up his first career strikeout, he gave up an RBI single to Liam Hicks. An inning later, he allowed a three-run home run to Agustín Ramírez.

After that, he pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to finish off the night. He started to get a handle on things as the game went on, which is a good sign.

His call-up had a storyline to it that went beyond what happened on the mound. His father flew to Miami from Colombia to see his son's Major League debut in person. With two outs in the top of the first inning, Austin Riley hit a foul ball just past the first base dugout, and Fuentes' dad caught the ball.

Didier Fuentes' Dad flew in from Colombia to see his son make his big-league debut...and he just caught a foul ball! pic.twitter.com/LctgiiCp4l

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 20, 2025

He got to see his son live out his dream of being a Major Leaguer, all while having a piece of the game to take home with him.

Given he only had that one Triple-A start ahead of this call-up, he'll likely be sent back down to Triple-A soon. However, with his quick rise, he'll be back. This was a preview of what's to come for the young righty.