In 2005, the Atlanta Braves were winning the National League East Division title, center fielder Andruw Jones was hitting 51 home runs, and a Braves starting pitcher was busy being born.
Atlanta is set to start pitcher Didier Fuentes on Friday against the Miami Marlins, the Braves announced Friday afternoon. Fuentes, a native of Tolu, Colombia, celebrated his 20th birthday on Tuesday.
Per Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Fuentes will be the youngest pitcher to start a game for the Braves since 19-year-old Mike McQueen started June 23, 1970, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. McQueen wound up spending five years in the major leagues with Atlanta and the Cincinnati Reds.
Fuentes is 0-7 with a 4.81 ERA in the minors in 2025, and Bowman indicated that "this will likely be just a spot start."
The Braves, recovering from a poor start to '25, are 7-3 in their last 10 games. They currently hold a 34-39 record and sit 10 games behind the first-place New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.