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Didier Fuentes closes out Rockies on Saturday

Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Player Stats

Didier Fuentes slammed the door on the Rockies on Saturday afternoon, working a scoreless ninth inning to protect a one-run advantage.

Raisel Iglesias only threw 16 pitches in closing out the Rockies on Friday night, so it’s interesting that it was Fuentes who got the call in this one instead of the Braves’ closer. It wasn’t the smoothest of innings, as he allowed a leadoff walk to Willi Castro and a one-out single to Troy Johnston, but he was able to battle back to strike out Zac Veen and get Jake McCarthy on a line out to right field to end it. He has emerged as a major weapon out of the Braves’ bullpen and should continue to see the occasional save chance over the final month of the season.

- David Shovein

Recap

More Didier Fuentes News

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Raisel Iglesias

ATL Relief Pitcher #26

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Raisel Iglesias allowed two hits, one walk, and one run in the ninth inning on Wednesday against the Mets.

Two nights in a row the Braves entered the ninth inning with a four-run lead over the months and both times they turned to Iglesias. Sure, it’s better to be safe than sorry and they have an off-day tomorrow. Yet, this was now the third time in five outings where Iglesias has let at least one run score. He’s not even close to being in jeopardy of losing this job, but he may no longer be the best reliever in his own bullpen given Didier Fuentes’ emergence.
Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Didier Fuentes retired all four batters he faced with two strikeouts to secure the save on Wednesday against the Marlins.

Fuentes was called upon with two outs in the eighth inning with the Braves leading by three, two runners, and Otto Lopez coming to the plate. He forced a first-pitch ground out to escape that jam before working a clean ninth inning to secure his second save. Usual closer Raisel Iglesias threw 20 pitches on Tuesday, so this was just the Braves trying to get him a night off. Fuentes certainly looked the part though.
Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Didier Fuentes earned his first career save in the Braves’ 3-2 win over the Pirates on Sunday.

Veteran closer Raisel Iglesias had already earned saves on Friday and Saturday, so Fuentes came in as the fresh option. Still just 20 years old, he’s been used as a traditional reliever lately. Fuentes hasn’t recorded more than four outs in an appearance since May 12. The Braves will likely be flexible with his role moving forward, and saves will be few and far between with Iglesias and Robert Suárez also in this bullpen. This is still a big developmental win for Atlanta, as he’s succeeding despite the unexpected usage.
Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Didier Fuentes tossed three hitless innings, striking out three, for a win in relief Tuesday against the Cubs.

Grant Holmes exited down 2-1 after four, and Fuentes was put in line for third win after the Braves came back with four in the bottom of the fifth. In five appearances since being recalled Apr. 28, Fuentes has allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings, notching two wins in the process. He threw a mere 36 pitches tonight, so he should be ready to pitch again by Friday.
Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Braves recalled RHP Didier Fuentes from Triple-A Gwinnett

The Braves have moved Reynaldo Lopez to the bullpen, but that was to accommodate JR Ritchie in the rotation. They also have Spencer Strider (oblique) likely to return this weekend, so this seems like a short-term addition with Fuentes pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen while Dylan Lee is on Paternity Leave.
Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Braves optioned RHP Didier Fuentes to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Fuentes allowed four runs in three innings against the Nationals on Wednesday, but also struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. The 20-year-old has been good to start the season in Triple-A, and he did mix in his splitter more in this outing than we’ve seen in the past, which is important since he has primarily been a two-pitch pitcher. He still has some work to do on refining his command, but he could be an option for the Braves and fantasy managers over the summer.
Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Didier Fuentes was lifted after allowing four runs in three innings Wednesday against the Nationals.

Fuentes struck out seven, but he also gave up seven hits, one being a three-run homer off the bat of Daylen Lile. The short start meant Martín Pérez, who could have started Thursday, was needed to pitch three innings behind him, and thus, both pitchers might lose their roster spots tomorrow with JR Ritchie and Carlos Carrasco coming up.
JR Ritchie

ATL Starting Pitcher

Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes reports the Braves are calling up pitching prospect JR Ritchie to start Thursday’s game against the Nationals.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman confirms that Ritchie will be called up with Didier Fuentes heading back to the minors after needing 74 pitches to complete three frames during Wednesday’s win over the Nationals. His abbreviated outing forced veteran Martín Pérez, who was originally scheduled to start on Thursday, into duty for a long relief outing. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect has posted a sparkling 0.99 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 28/13 K/BB ratio across 27 1/3 innings over five starts for Triple-A Gwinnett this season. There’s some streaming appeal for fantasy purposes, but this figures to be a one-and-done situation for Ritchie.
Didier Fuentes

ATL Starting Pitcher #72

Braves recalled RHP Didier Fuentes from Triple-A Gwinnett

Fuentes is getting called up and, according to Barrett Sallee of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network. will also start Wednesday’s game against the Nationals. Martín Pérez had originally been slated to start this game, so he will most likely have his start pushed back to later in the weekend. There’s no word yet on whether this is a spot start for Fuentes or if the Braves will move to a six-man rotation or move somebody else out of the rotation. Fuentes has been tremendous in Triple-A with a 2.16 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 20/6 K/BB ratio in 16 2/3 innings, so he is a great streamer for today.
Martín Pérez

ATL Relief Pitcher #33

Martín Pérez will start Friday’s game against the Phillies.

Fantasy managers hoping to see top prospects Didier Fuentes or JR Ritchie will have to wait a bit longer. Pérez re-signed with Atlanta after being jettisoned from the club’s active roster earlier this week and electing free agency. The 35-year-old southpaw can be safely ignored in all fantasy leagues.

Rotoworld

Wade Meckler

LAA Left Fielder #53
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Wade Meckler went 2-for-5 and singled in the winning run in the 10th as the Angels edged the Twins 5-4 on Thursday.

Meckler plated Zach Neto after Mike Trout previously singled to tie the game. The 26-year-old Meckler has a nice .294/.370/.381 line through 299 plate appearances, and unless the Angels go on a major spending spree this winter, one imagines he’ll get a chance to remain the team’s left fielder against right-handers to start 2027.
- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Walbert Ureña

LAA Starting Pitcher #57
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Walbert Ureña shut out the Twins for seven innings, striking out nine, in a no-decision Thursday against the Twins.

Ureña managing to retain mixed-league value pretty much all year long in a situation as bad for pitchers as the one in Anaheim is one of the top accomplishments from any rookie this year. Not even just rookies, really. Ureña departed with a 3-0 lead tonight, but it failed to hold up, keeping him 9-10 with a 2.74 ERA. He’ll probably make just one more start Wednesday against the A’s.
- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44
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Ben Joyce took a blown save after giving up a two-run homer in the ninth Thursday against the Twins.

Joyce did strike out three of the five batters he faced tonight, but in between were a single and a homer. It’s his third blown save in eight tries, though one of those was because of two unearned runs in extras. He still figures to finish out the year as the Angels’ closer. He might, however, be less likely to keep that role in 2027 with the pending sale of the Angels.
- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Taj Bradley

MIN Starting Pitcher #26
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Taj Bradley yielded three runs in seven innings Thursday against the Angels.

Bradley was outpitched by Walbert Ureña, but he matched Ureña’s nine strikeouts and walked just one. He’s now just one away from 200 strikeouts for the year. With the Twins essentially done at this point, he’ll probably pitch only once more next week against the Giants.
- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Yoendrys Gómez

MIN Relief Pitcher #94
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Pitching for a third straight day after blowing his first save Wednesday, Yoendrys Gómez gave up two runs — one earned — in the 10th to take another blown save and a loss Thursday against the Angels.

If the Twins had it to do over again, one imagines they would have stuck with Jeff Hoffman in the 10th after he got one out in the ninth. Instead, they went back to Gómez, who threw 10 pitches Tuesday and 24 on Wednesday. He walked one and gave up a game-tying hit while getting one out before being replaced. Kody Funderburk then surrendered a game-winning single to Wade Meckler. Gómez was 22-for-22 saving games this season prior to Wednesday’s affair. However, he’s now sporting a 7.54 ERA since the beginning of August.
- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Walker Jenkins

MIN Center Fielder
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Walker Jenkins went 3-for-4 and hit a game-tying two-run homer off Ben Joyce in the ninth inning Thursday against the Angels.

Of course, velocity data doesn’t go back all that far. Still, we’re guessing Jenkins set some sort of record for greatest velocity difference on pitches hit for a player’s first two major league homers. Jenkins’ first came off a 37.4-mph “other” from Tigers infielder Zach McKinstry in an Aug. 31 blowout. Tonight’s, however, saw him turn around a 100.9-mph fastball from one of the game’s hardest throwers. The three-hit game made Jenkins 7-for-49 as a big leaguer.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Royce Lewis

MIN 1st Baseman #23
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Royce Lewis went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts against the Angels on Thursday.

It just keeps getting more difficult imagining Lewis in a Twins uniform next year, even though it probably wouldn’t cost more than $4 million to keep him in arbitration. Going 3-for-32 in his last nine games has dropped him down to .226/.290/.381 for the season. That’s a .671 OPS, which is also what he finished at last season. Brooks Lee has overtaken him at third base, and he just hasn’t recently shown the kind of bat to justify a starting job at first.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Aroldis Chapman

BOS Relief Pitcher #44
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Aroldis Chapman was unavailable Thursday because of lat tightness.

Chapman hadn’t pitched in four days and wasn’t previously reported as injured, so it was pretty stunning to see him not out there against the Rangers. Still, Garrett Whitlock successfully closed in his place. Chapman is listed as day-to-day for now.

- Matthew Pouliot

Injury

Source: Chris Cotillo
Garrett Whitlock
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Jared Young

NYM 1st Baseman #29
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Mets’ manager Andy Green told reporters on Thursday night that they’re hopeful that Jared Young (head) avoided the worst outcomes following a scary collision with Nolan McLean.

While Green noted that Young is still exhibiting concussion symptoms, his CT scan came back negative and he has feelings in all of his extremities. Green also added that Young is “showing really good signs right now”. He’ll remain in the hospital overnight for observation. Expect the Mets to provide another update on his status prior to Friday’s game.
- David Shovein

Injury

Source: Anthony DiComo

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Willson Contreras

BOS 1st Baseman #40
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X-rays on the injured hand of Willson Contreras came back negative for any fractures on Thursday.

The 34-year-old slugger was removed from Thursday’s game against the Rangers after he was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning. Fortunately, he appears to have avoided any structural damage. He’s still a bit sore though, so it may depend on how he’s feeling on Friday before the Red Sox determine his availability for the weekend.
- David Shovein

Injury

Source: Chris Cotillo

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