2 The Bigs

By Chris Corso: April 30, 2024

One of my favorite pitching prospects in the game in 2024 is a southpaw that you might see on the bump in Toronto soon. Ricky Tiedemann is the Toronto Blue Jays No. 1 overall prospect and he has some of the measurables to be the ace of the future in Canada.

Tiedemann is just 21 years old and he has already made it all the way up to the Triple A level after being selected in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft. The 91^st overall pick boasts a fastball that can clock in as high as 98 miles per hour and he throws a great off speed breaking ball to keep his hitters guessing.

Tiedemann is currently battling a bit to start off the 2024 minor league season for the Buffalo Bison in Triple A with a 5.63 ERA through his first three starts but don’t let the slow start fool you. The stuff is there. In his first year of pro ball for the Blue Jays in 2022 Tiedemann went all the way to Double A and held a 2.10 ERA through three levels of minor league ball. In 2023 he took another step forward amassing a solid 3.68 ERA and reaching the Buffalo level. What is most impressive about his game is his ability to strike batters out.

He has amassed 209 strikeouts in just 103 innings pitched at the minor league level. Let me repeat that for the people in the back. 209 strikeouts in 103 innings pitched! For a 21 year old that’s some impressive work. Tiedemann’s fastball and slider have received a 60 grade by MLB.com. He’s got some stellar stuff.

many this year and touches Double-A before his 20^th birthday in July. The high potential score is mainly due to that beautiful plate discipline. He’ll shorten that swing and cut on the misses.

One would assume his pitches great against lefthanded hitters but check out this stat. Tiedemann held right-handed hitters to a .186 batting average in the minors in all of 2023. The slugging percentage was also just .196 in 123 plate appearances.

I look for the Blue Jays to let Tiedemann spend a majority of 2024 in the minor leagues to continue to hone in on his pitches and continue to develop his fastball and his offspeed pitches.

The challenges for Tiedemann are that he has to stay healthy and he has to maintain his control. One would think of a lefthanded firearm and assume that the control is not always there. When you throw with such velocity as a southpaw it’s not always easy to have pinpoint accuracy, especially with his sweeping delivery. This is something the Jays think will continue to come over time as he’s walked 69 batters in 139 innings pitched in the minors so far.

I’m super high on this arm and think the Blue Jays will have to decide if they want his skills sooner rather than later out of the bullpen. Think of a David Price for the Tampa Bay Rays playoff runs back in the day. In the long run the Jays will continue to strengthen his arm so he can be a dominant starting pitcher with very high upside.

Earlier this month the Blue Jays got the “best possible news” as Tiedemann headed to the injured list with pain in his throwing arm. Tiedemann has not structural damage but will take some time off the diamond to recover as the Jays are going to be cautious with their No. 1 prospect’s arm. We will have to wait and see how he progresses for his next step on his path to the majors.

Check out this insane performance during spring training for the Jays.