Blue Jays' top prospect Ricky Tiedemann dominates in spring training debut

There was a lot to like about left-hander Ricky Tiedemann’s spring training debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Tiedemann, a third-round selection from 2021, had already garnered plenty of attention in camp this spring among his teammates and coaches, with everyone keeping a close eye on the franchise’s top prospect. And who could blame them?

The 20-year-old has drawn a large crowd whenever he has taken the hill as a professional, with his hype train first gaining steam during his stellar — albeit brief — stint at low-A Dunedin (1.80 ERA over six starts) in 2022. That excitement continued as he rose to high-A Vancouver before finishing the year at double-A New Hampshire.

In an effort to manage Tiedemann’s workload, Toronto’s minor-league development staff shut down the 6-foot-4 starter following his start on Aug. 26, where he allowed two walks and a hit-by-pitch while recording a pair of strikeouts across three innings. He did continue throwing at the Player Development Complex in Florida after being transferred to the development list, though.

So when Tiedemann returned to TD Ballpark on Tuesday, it was the first time he had encountered a live game setting in almost six months, generating plenty of buzz among the fan base. While his outing only lasted an inning, he certainly made the most of it.

Tiedemann entered the game in the top of the sixth inning, jogging out from the Blue Jays’ bullpen beyond the right-field wall. His first assignment was facing Javier Báez, which was no small feat, but he made quick work of the two-time All-Star.

The Blue Jays lefty missed high above the strike zone with his first pitch, a 98.1-mph sinker, only to pound the inside half of the plate with a 97.4-mph heater to even the count at 1-1. Then, after Báez fouled off a poorly located changeup, the top young hurler blew him away with a 99.4-mph sinker for a swinging strikeout.

Tiedemann continued to flash his suddenly explosive fastball, which averaged 98.3 mph in his outing — noticeably higher than last season’s average — and threw a pair of high-90s heaters to Austin Meadows, who grounded out to shortstop Luis De Los Santos on three pitches.

Then, before departing for the afternoon, the talented lefty recorded his second swinging punchout of the contest, this time against Matt Vierling.

After getting ahead 0-1 with a slider on the outside corner, Tiedemann issued three straight 98-mph sinkers before enticing Vierling to offer at a beautifully located changeup down and away for strike three. Like the sinker he used to finish Báez, it featured 16 inches of horizontal break.