Top Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann is off to a rough start with triple-A Buffalo, but you wouldn't know it these days by listening to him talk.
"When you're a starting pitcher, you think about the end goal, you want to show the team you're not going to blow it all out," Tiedemann said on the Blair and Barker show on Tuesday, when asked about not throwing the fastball all the time. "As a starter, that's when you pick your battles, with velo and location, and kind of go from there."
Tiedemann, 21, is 0-1 and has a 5.63 ERA, after allowing seven hits, five runs, three home runs and nine walks over eight innings in three starts with the Buffalo Bisons in triple-A ball. He has also struck out 10.
Tiedemann said his 2024 goals were to stay in the five-day rotation and to gain some consistency, whether that was with the Bisons or "the big league club, if they need it." He added he can get there if he works on his "fluidity" on the mound.
"Most of the game is simple as a pitcher, being in the zone as much as possible and letting your stuff work," he said. "Most of the success I have is when I'm in the zone, (when I can) attack the zone and be aggressive."
But "aggressive" doesn't mean throwing heat all the time. Tiedemann said he's more interested in controlling his velocity in certain situations and "painting corners." And, if he's doing that with consistency and is throwing the mid-90s, "you know it's going to be a good day for me."
Considered the next big thing for the Jays on the mound, Tiedemann earned pitcher of the week honours in the Arizona Fall League in late October after his debut with the Surprise Saguaros. To earn that honour, the Long Beach, Calif., native showed a glimpse of his potential when he struck out seven batters and allowed only one run on three hits and three walks.
A 2021 third-round pick by the Blue Jays, Tiedemann was last year named the MLB's No. 2 pitching prospect among left-handers.
The Jays go head-to-head with the New York Yankees Tuesday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
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