MIAMI (AP) — Braves right-hander Didier Fuentes became the youngest active player in the majors and youngest Atlanta starter since 1969 when he debuted in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Miami Marlins.
Atlanta called up the 20 year old from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier in the day — three days after his birthday — to start the first of a three-game series at Miami.
Fuentes took the loss after giving up four runs and six hits in five innings. He also struck out three and walked one. His first major-league strikeout was against Dane Myers in the second, and his fastball reached 98.1 mph.
“I was a little nervous in the first inning. I’m not going to lie," Fuentes said through an interpreter. "It was my first inning in the big leagues, but I was going to give 100 percent.”
Fuentes is the third-youngest starting pitcher in Braves history, only older than Charlie Vaughan and Mike McQueen. Vaughan debuted on September 3, 1966, at 18. McQueen pitched his first game on October 2, 1969, at 19. He's also be the youngest MLB starter to debut since Julio Urías on May 27, 2016, for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I had to go online and see what he looked like, honestly," Braves manager Brian Snitker quipped before Friday's game.
Snitker said afterward he was impressed by the youngster's poise.
“I’ll tell you what – that fastball in the bottom of the zone is some kind of live,” Snitker said. "I thought his secondary stuff was better than what I expected. There’s a lot of pitch ability there.”
“I looked at him between innings and he wasn’t overwhelmed by anything,” he added. "I was very impressed with him.”
Agustín Ramírez hit a three-run shot off Fuentes in the third that put Miami up 4-0, but Fuentes finished his outing with two scoreless innings.
“Those are things that happen in baseball," he said. "I just tried to be relaxed and calm and continue to put in the work.”
What made the Colombia native most proud was playing in front of his father, who flew in for the game and caught a foul ball from Austin Riley in the first inning.
“I’m eternally grateful to my dad as well as my mom," Fuentes said. "Unfortunately, she couldn’t make this game. For my dad it’s a dream to watch me pitch no matter the league. Big leagues, Single A, Double A. That was his dream – to watch me pitch.”
Fuentes, who is rated on MLB Pipeline as the Braves' No. 10 prospect, posted a 4.81 ERA at three levels this season. His most recent start was his debut with Gwinnett, where he scattered three hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out six. In 33 minor league starts, he averaged about 11 strikeouts per nine innings.
“It’s a good arm,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Major league debut, other than the one (pitch) to Ramírez, he gave his team a chance and got them to the portion of the game where the could turn it over to the pen. So good arm and good stuff.”
Fuentes' start provided rest for the regular members of Atlanta's rotation as the Braves prepare for a four-game series at the New York Mets next week.
The Braves entered Friday on a three-game winning streak after sweeping the Mets to extend New York's losing streak to six games. Atlanta began the day trailing the Mets and Phillies by 10 games in the NL East.
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Atlanta Braves pitcher Didier Fuentes watches a fly ball hit by Miami Marlins' Xavier Edwards during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 20, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Didier Fuentes throws to a Miami Marlins batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 20, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. The announcement was made Friday by the U.S. military. The Trump administration has been targeting sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.
The pre-dawn action was carried out by U.S. Marines and Navy, taking part in the monthslong buildup of forces in the Caribbean, according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the vessel called the Olina.
Navy officials couldn’t immediately provide details about whether the Coast Guard was part of the force that took control of the vessel as has been the case in the previous seizures. A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard said there was no immediate comment on the seizure.
The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by Trump’s administration to control the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products globally following the U.S. ouster of President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.
The latest:
Richard Grenell, president of the Kennedy Center, says a documentary film about first lady Melania Trump will make its premiere later this month, posting a trailer on X.
As the Trumps prepared to return to the White House last year, Amazon Prime Video announced a year ago that it had obtained exclusive licensing rights for a streaming and theatrical release directed by Brett Ratner.
Melania Trump also released a self-titled memoir in late 2024.
Some artists have canceled scheduled Kennedy Center performances after a newly installed board voted to add President Donald Trump’s to the facility, prompting Grenell to accuse the performers of making their decisions because of politics.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum says that she has asked her foreign affairs secretary to reach out directly to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Trump regarding comments by the American leader that the U.S. cold begin ground attacks against drug cartels.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News aired Thursday night, Trump said, “We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water and we are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico. It’s very sad to watch.”
As she has on previous occasions, Sheinbaum downplayed the remarks, saying “it is part of his way of communicating.” She said she asked her Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente to strengthen coordination with the U.S.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s offer to send U.S. troops after Mexican drug cartels. She emphasizes that there will be no violation of Mexico’s sovereignty, but the two governments will continue to collaborate closely.
Analysts do not see a U.S. incursion in Mexico as a real possibility, in part because Sheinbaum’s administration has been doing nearly everything Trump has asked and Mexico is a critical trade partner.
Trump says he wants to secure $100 billion to remake Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, a lofty goal going into a 2:30 meeting on Friday with executives from leading oil companies. His plan rides on oil producers being comfortable in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.
The president has said that the U.S. will control distribution worldwide of Venezuela’s oil and will share some of the proceeds with the country’s population from accounts that it controls.
“At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.
Trump is banking on the idea that he can tap more of Venezuela’s petroleum reserves to keep oil prices and gasoline costs low.
At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.
Trump is expected to meet with oil executives at the White House on Friday.
He hopes to secure $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s oil industry. The goal rides on the executives’ comfort with investing in a country facing instability and inflation.
Since a U.S. military raid captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has said there’s a new opportunity to use the country’s oil to keep gasoline prices low.
The full list of executives invited to the meeting has not been disclosed, but Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are expected to attend.
Attorneys general in five Democratic-led states have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration after it said it would freeze money for several public benefit programs.
The Trump administration has cited concerns about fraud in the programs designed to help low-income families and their children. California, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois and New York states filed the lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit asks the courts to order the administration to release the funds. The attorneys general have called the funding freeze an unconstitutional abuse of power.
Iran’s judiciary chief has vowed decisive punishment for protesters, signaling a coming crackdown against demonstrations.
Iranian state television reported the comments from Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei on Friday. They came after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized Trump’s support for the protesters, calling Trump’s hands “stained with the blood of Iranians.”
The government has shut down the internet and is blocking international calls. State media has labeled the demonstrators as “terrorists.”
The protests began over Iran’s struggling economy and have become a significant challenge to the government. Violence has killed at least 50 people, and more than 2,270 have been detained.
Trump questions why a president’s party often loses in midterm elections and suggests voters “want, maybe a check or something”
Trump suggested voters want to check a president’s power and that’s why they often deliver wins for an opposing party in midterm elections, which he’s facing this year.
“There’s something down, deep psychologically with the voters that they want, maybe a check or something. I don’t know what it is, exactly,” he said.
He said that one would expect that after winning an election and having “a great, successful presidency, it would be an automatic win, but it’s never been a win.”
Hiring likely remained subdued last month as many companies have sought to avoid expanding their workforces, though the job gains may be enough to bring down the unemployment rate.
December’s jobs report, to be released Friday, is likely to show that employers added a modest 55,000 jobs, economists forecast. That figure would be below November’s 64,000 but an improvement after the economy lost jobs in October. The unemployment rate is expected to slip to 4.5%, according to data provider FactSet, from a four-year high of 4.6% in November.
The figures will be closely watched on Wall Street and in Washington because they will be the first clean readings on the labor market in three months. The government didn’t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November’s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.
FILE - President Donald Trump dances as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
