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A $35,000 signee out of Panama in July 2013, Fuentes wasn’t on many radars through the first three seasons of his Minor League career until his breakout as a reliever in 2018. The right-hander posted a 2.78 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP with 70 strikeouts in 68 innings at two Class A levels that campaign. After another dominant stretch at Class A Advanced Potomac in 2019, the Nationals bumped Fuentes to a starting spot at Double-A Harrisburg and he continued to succeed despite the change in role and jump in competition. That rise came to a halt when Fuentes was suspended 50 games after testing positive for a banned stimulant. He still participated in last year’s alternate site, instructs and winter ball in Panama and was added to the 40-man roster in October.Fuentes got ground balls on 53.6 percent of his batted balls in 2019, the fourth-highest rate among Nats farmhands with at least 80 innings. He accomplishes that with a fastball that typically sits in the low 90s and comes with a good amount of sinking action. His changeup earns solid marks for its ability to look very similar to the fastball coming out of the hand. His slider could determine his future role. It can show good depth when he stays on top of it but can get too sweepy at times, making it more of an average offering right now.The suspension in 2019 and the lost 2020 season hurt Fuentes as much as anyone in the Washington system. The Nationals are likely to continue his starting progression when he returns to the upper Minors in 2021, but the organization views him long term as someone more likely to eat innings coming out of the bullpen and help out in the rotation in a pinch.
Beat me to this one imref. Hopefully he is able to get off the IL soon in Rochester and get back on the mound.
Steven Fuentes made his second rehab start for the Senators and went 5.1 innings allowing five runs, all earned. He was touched for four solo home runs. He struck out four and walked two.
Fuentes collapse last night: 10 runs in the first three innings.
