Reymond Fuentes

Reymond Louis Fuentes

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 160 lb.
• High School Fernando Callejo High School
• Debut August 26, 2013
• Finale Game September 30, 2017
• Born February 12, 1991 in Orlando, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Reymond Fuentes made it to the majors in 2013; he had previously played in the Pan American Games, Baseball World Cup and Futures Game.

He was the first player picked in the 2009 amateur draft from outside the continental USA. Fuentes, a cousin of Carlos Beltran, had hit .424/.620/1.091 as a high school senior in Manati, Puerto Rico, with 5 triples in 13 games. He had a speed of 6.3 seconds in the 60-yard dash. The Boston Red Sox chose him with the 28th pick of the draft and he signed with scout Edgar Perez. An outfielder, he debuted as a pro with the GCL Red Sox in a July 4th doubleheader with the GCL Reds, going 3 for 6 with a walk, steal (in 2 tries), run and 2 RBI for the day. He hit .290/.331/.379 in 40 games in his first taste of professional ball. Baseball America rated him as the #3 prospect in the Gulf Coast League, between Christian Bethancourt and Kelvin De Leon.

After the 2010 season, during which he hit .270/.328/.377 in 104 games for the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League, he was rated by Baseball America as the #9 prospect in the loop, between Jonathan Villar and Chad James. He stole 42 bases in 47 tries that season, 21 behind teammate Jeremy Hazelbaker, good for 2nd in the Red Sox chain and 6th in the South Atlantic League (between Cesar Puello and Jose Altuve). He was traded to the San Diego Padres along with P Casey Kelly and 1B Anthony Rizzo in return for All-Star 1B Adrian Gonzalez on December 4th.

Fuentes produced at a .275/.342/.369 clip for the 2011 Lake Elsinore Storm, stealing 41 bases in 55 tries, legging out 9 triples and scoring 84 runs. He tied for third in the California League in triples, behind Gary Brown and Matt Long, and was 4th in steals. Among Padres farmhands, he tied Jonathan Galvez for 7th in runs, tied Rymer Liriano for the most triples and was third in steals (after Liriano and Rico Noel). In the 2011 Futures Game, he pinch-hit for Starling Marte in the 6th inning of a 6-4 World team loss. With Jurickson Profar on third, he flew out against Kyle Gibson to end the World's four-run rally. He stayed in the game in center field. Up again in the 9th, he grounded out to Paul Goldschmidt while facing Matt Harvey. Baseball America continued to regard him highly, placing him as the #14 prospect in the Cal League, between fellow speedsters Jean Segura and Altuve, and as #4 in the San Diego chain.

Reymond then joined the Puerto Rican national team for the fall. He hit .375/.423/.423 with 6 runs in six games in the 2011 Baseball World Cup, with two assists and an error in center field. He led Puerto Rico in average, runs and hits while placing second to César Crespo in OPS. After finishing 4th in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, Puerto Rico failed to make it to the second round. In the 2011 Pan American Games, he hit .235/.316/.235 with 3 steals in four games; he led Puerto Rico in steals and tied for second in runs behind Hiram Bocachica. He did most of his damage (3 of his 4 hits, 2 of the 3 runs) in a 8-7 loss to Cuba.

He struggled in 2012 with the San Antonio Missions, eking out a .218/.301/.302 line with 53 runs, 34 RBI and 133 strikeouts; he stole 35 bases in 44 tries. He was third in the Texas League in swipes, behind Villar and Engel Beltre and was 4th in the Padres chain. He was much better to open 2013, hitting .316/.396/.441 with 29 steals in 39 tries in 93 games for San Antonio and .418/.515/.491 in 14 games for the Tucson Padres. He was back in the 2013 Futures Game, hitting leadoff and playing left field for the World. Like most of his teammates, he was shut down, flying out against Noah Syndergaard, grounding out while facing Archie Bradley and popping out against Jesse Biddle before Yeison Asencio replaced him. When Carlos Quentin went on the DL, Fuentes was called up to The Show.

In his major league debut for the Padres on August 26, 2013, Fuentes started in center field and hit 7th facing the Arizona Diamondbacks. He grounded out against Brandon McCarthy his first time up, then fanned and grounded out later. In the bottom of the 7th, he left in a double switch, Chris Denorfia taking his spot in the field and pitcher Anthony Bass replacing him in the lineup.

He was traded to the Kansas City Royals on November 20, 2014, in return for pitching prospect Kyle Bartsch. He returned to the majors with the Royals in 2016, after a two-year absence, hitting .317 in 13 games. He was released just before the end of that season and signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who gave him his first stretch of extended playing time at the major league level in 2017. His first major league homer came on June 18th in a key situation as after entering a game against the Philadelphia Phillies as a pinch-runner in the 8th and being caught stealing, he homered off Jeanmar Gomez in the 10th, accounting for the winning run in a 5-4 win.

Related Sites

• Reymond Fuentes at mlb.com
• BR Minors page