Didier Fuentes’ move to Triple-A shows Braves are mindful of his confidence

“It’s a lot to process for a young guy, and it’s been a rough go for him,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters in Sacramento, California, according to the postgame show on FanDuel Sports Network. “He’s not mature enough to do this yet. He will be with innings and time.”

The Braves made Fuentes the youngest starting pitcher to debut with the club in more than 19 years when they called him up June 20. The plan was for Fuentes to make one spot start against the Marlins, but an injury to Chris Sale kept him in the rotation.

And as Snitker said, it’s been a “rough go” for the 20-year-old from Tolu, Colombia.

Fuentes lasted as long as five innings in only one of his four starts — his debut against the Marlins — and finished with a 13.85 ERA. It is clear that Fuentes possesses a pitch arsenal that could help him excel at the major league level, but he needs more time to fine-tune it.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

“He needs to go back and kind of just start pitching and get in an environment that he’s accustomed to being in,” Snitker said. “An environment that he feels confidence, and he can compete and continue to work on his location and pitches.”

The club brought up right-hander Nathan Wiles to fill Fuentes’ roster spot. The 27-year-old leads Triple-A Gwinnett with a 3.33 ERA in 15 starts and struck out 78 batters with 24 walks in 81 innings.

This will be Wiles’ second stint with the club, as he surrendered three runs in one inning of relief during his MLB debut against the Cardinals in April. He either could serve a long-relief role for the Braves during their final five games before the All-Star break or make a start against the same Cardinals over the weekend.