Kendy Richard was an amateur free agent signed by the Braves out of the Dominican Republic in 2024.
What were the expectations?
Expectations for Kendy were virtually non-existent as he put up solid but not stellar numbers in the Dominican Summer League in 2024. As a 20-year-old, Kendy appeared in 13 games and had a 3.48 ERA with a 6.97 K/9 and 3.48 BB/9 rate. While the ERA is quite nice for the league, at age 20 you expect every prospect to be solid in that league, which to Kendy’s credit. As a result, he was destined for prom in the United States in 2025 because of those numbers.
Kendy played in 16 games, 10 of them as a starter, in 2025. He started the season with the FCL Braves, where he really stood out, playing in 6 games where he had a 7.46 K/9 and 3.83 BB/9. With an ERA of just 1.81, Kendy forced the Braves to promote him to season ball, which is a bit of a surprise considering his lack of experience in professional baseball. Kendy would appear in six games for the Augusta GreenJackets, where he would see his strikeout numbers skyrocket to 10.41 K/9, but his walk rate would also increase to 4.24 BB/9. We got to see him in person for the first time and what we saw was a more polished arm on the lower ceiling as Kendy was in the low 90s with his fastball and had a nice slider/sweeper that he felt comfortable enough throwing to both sides of the plate against RHB and LHB. While he really needs that third pitch to come on strong next year, it’s safe to say that Kendy has really made a name for himself in 2025 and turned himself into a pitcher to watch.
What went well?
Pretty much 2025 went well for Kendy. He had a very solid year for himself and put up strong numbers all season long. While the pure stuff wasn’t there yet at this stage, it was almost refreshing to see a pitcher at this point in his career playing live based on pitching ability rather than pure stuff.
Not much really went wrong. Kendy went from being an organizational filler to a potential name to watch. At 6-foot-4 and with a great base, it seems like he might be able to get a little more out of his fastball, which would make him a potentially interesting pitcher.
Outlook for 2026
After putting himself on the map in 2025, a repeat performance from Kendy would be huge for him. There won’t be many expectations because he doesn’t exactly have an elite arsenal, but if he continues to show growth, he will rise through the ranks and provide value in an organization with plenty of pitching depth.
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