NORTH PORT, Fla. — Braves pitching prospect Didier Fuentes made his first spring training appearance Saturday during a game against the Orioles.

The 20-year-old, who made his MLB debut in 2025, came out of the bullpen during the fifth inning in a scoreless game. Fuentes was shaky at first, plunking Orioles third baseman Colin Yeaman with his third pitch. But his fourth pitch was hit into a fielder’s choice, and after Reed Trimble was caught stealing second, Fuentes struck out Jordan Sanchez on a 98 mph fastball up in the zone.

That would set the tone for Fuentes’ next inning: he struck out the side and touched 98.8 mph with his four-seam fastball. Twenty of his 25 pitches were fastballs, with the other five being a sweeper, which was up 3.5 mph over his 2025 average of 83.4 mph.

On June 20, Fuentes was a surprise call-up and started against the Marlins in Miami. He was greeted to the league rudely as the Marlins touched him up for four earned runs over six innings.

That start was one of four for Fuentes, who finished the season at Triple-A Gwinnett. The Dominican right-hander made four starts for the Braves and was 0-3 with a 13.85 ERA and 2.231 WHIP.

“He was just so young. I mean, who’s ready for the big leagues and what he had to try to do last year? Who’s ready for that? Very few,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Saturday. “But he got that opportunity because he’s so talented. But as we know, it’s about more than talent. You gotta learn how to pitch, and his secondary stuff has to develop, and that’s happening before our eyes. And our pitching guys are excited about him, too.”