While the New York Mets' minor league system hasn't had the best year on the position player side, the club's pitching prospects have lived up to the hype. Christian Scott has already reached the majors while Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong have already forced promotions. Another pitcher on the doorstep of Queens is righty Blade Tidwell, who is the focus of this week's edition of Minor League Mondays.
Tidwell, the Mets' second-round pick in 2022 out of Tennessee, has been impressive since his minor league debut at the end of the 2022 campaign. 2023 saw Tidwell split time between Brooklyn and Binghamton, where he posted a combined 11-6 record with a 3.57 ERA in 25 starts. Tidwell struck out 153 batters in 116 innings pitched but didn't quite master AA, leading the Mets to have him repeat the level to start this season.
Things went much better this time around for Tidwell, who pitched to a 2.41 ERA for the Rumble Ponies before earning a promotion to AAA Syracuse. Tidwell has done well with his first two starts in the International League, pitching to a 1.54 ERA and holding opponents to a .175 batting average over his first 11.2 AAA innings.
The Mets are very excited about Tidwell's stuff, which is highlighted by a four-seam fastball that can touch 98 miles per hour and has ridiculous vertical break. When paired with a solid sweeper, Tidwell has two plus pitches that helped him lead the organization in strikeout rate during the 2023 minor league season. Tidwell also has a changeup and curveball as offspeed offerings that he will need to refine to give him more versatility as a potential big league starter.
The big question Tidwell will have to answer is his command, which he's had issues with dating back to his days at Tennessee. Tidwell walked 63 batters in 116 innings last season, a clip of roughly 12.7 percent. The walks have come down so far this season as Tidwell has walked 19 batters in 49 innings, bringing his walk rate down to 9.4 percent, although he has walked 8 in 11.2 AAA innings this season.
The increasing likelihood of a trade deadline sell-off could open an opportunity for Tidwell, the Mets' 10th-best prospect according to MLB.com, to make his big league debut down the stretch. Although President of Baseball Operations David Stearns has been aggressive promoting his prospects, Tidwell will have to earn his big league opportunity.
Even if the Mets do trade all of their potential free agent starters (Jose Quintana, Luis Severino and Sean Manaea) in July they still have a deep group of young pitchers who will push for starts. David Peterson and Tylor Megill are already in the big league rotation while Scott and Jose Butto are currently in the AAA rotation. Kodai Senga could also factor into the mix eventually, but innings limits for Scott and protecting Senga's health raise the possibility of a six-man rotation at that point.
This level of competition is good for Tidwell, who will have to really earn his big league opportunity instead of having it handed to him. The Mets have a big incentive to see Tidwell face big league hitters to see if he can be a consideration for a rotation spot in 2025, which would be good since it could allow them to fill a key hole internally. Either way, Tidwell is one of the most important prospects for the Mets to develop over the rest of this season.
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