Fuentes Caps Off Strong Braves Spring with Dazzling Performance

In the wake of another blow to the Atlanta Braves' season, before it has even started, Didier Fuentes put on another show. He took the mound instead of Spencer Strider, who will start the season on the injured list due to an oblique strain.

Fuentes pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing a run on just three baserunners, two hits and a walk, while striking out a single batter. He faced the Pirates’ core pieces of the lineup and got the job done.

To his credit, he managed to use the fastball to induce groundballs, allowing him to be effective, even if he wasn’t necessarily missing bats. Overall, he’ll finish with a 0.66 ERA, a 0.22 WHIP and 18 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.

While he dazzled in the start on Monday, he’s currently expected to still start the season in a long relief role in the Braves' bullpen. This opens the door to Jose Suarez potentially nabbing the fifth rotation spot to fill in for Strider, whose timetable is still unknown. The Braves hope he’s only out for a few weeks.

At the very least, he showed he could potentially make an impact in the major leagues a couple of times through the order. Those innings could become more important very quickly depending on the health of the rotation and how much the Braves can get from each starter.

Atlanta Braves on SI heard on Friday that Fuentes would stick around for opening day, with more official word coming on Saturday.

He's the No. 3 prospect in the Braves system behind Cam Caminiti and JR Ritchie. It wouldn't be surprising if he became a top-100 prospect next season, assuming he doesn't see significant action sometime this season.

He was called up last season as the Braves' injury woes piled up. He made four starts, allowing 20 earned runs over 13 combined innings (13.85 ERA). A major killer was the six home runs he allowed. He just wasn't ready, and he needs the time to properly develop. He’s clearly come a long way since then.

Time will tell how well he does once the games matter, but he’s earned a right to find out.

As of now, the guaranteed arms in the rotation are Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes. Bryce Elder is a likely candidate to nab one of the rotation spots.

The Braves have one last spring training game on the docket. They’ll host the Tampa Bay Rays in North Port, Fla. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. After that, they head back to Atlanta for opening day on Friday.