Blue Jays prospect Ricky Tiedemann reviews his imposing double-A debut

It didn’t take long for Toronto Blue Jays prospect Ricky Tiedemann to turn heads in the minors.

The 20-year-old was activated off the injured list and took the mound on April 13 for his double-A debut with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He proceeded to whiff nine batters in three innings of work, touching 99 m.p.h. on his fastball. 

The young flamethrower discussed that statement performance and his focus this season in an interview Tuesday on Blair & Barker.

While the Tiedemann-hype-train has entered a new gear since his latest outing, he’s been turning heads since an impressive Spring Training campaign.

“It showed that I can compete at that level,” Tiedemann said, regarding his spring. “I think it's just mostly a matter of consistency and being able to stay out there on a weekly basis.”

Consistency was a focus for the southpaw, who had irregular and short starts while he worked his way from A-ball to double-A in 2022.

“I think that's what the higher-ups wanted to see,” said Tiedemann on translating Spring Training success to double-A. “Showing that I could be consistent throughout the year and prove it at the highest level.”

The young lefty’s outing was not overlooked by Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider.

“He did all right,” said the Blue Jays skipper. “He felt good afterwards. I don’t know what else he needs to do in double-A."

While Schneider hints he’s ready for a jump, Tiedemann knows there’s room for improvement. 

“My stuff works, but obviously, you got to keep working on certain pitches,” Tiedemann said. “I'm going to keep working on those throughout each affiliate game, and hopefully, I can get them all in sync at the same time and help the team out.”

Though Tiedemann is not expected to make the jump to the majors until later this season — if at all — his double-A debut amidst the Blue Jays’ early rotation issues could see the conversation around that topic increase.