The Toronto Blue Jays have one of the most intriguing projected starting rotations in Major League Baseball next season.
Not much is solidified beyond ace Kevin Gausman and newcomer Dylan Cease, fresh off signing a seven-year deal. Shane Bieber is back, but also dealing with lingering forearm soreness. Trey Yesavage should have a spot locked up for now because of his playoff run, but he’s only got four career starts in the regular season. Cody Ponce hasn’t faced major league hitters, and José Berríos just missed the playoff run altogether.
All those big names don’t leave much room for a youngster to come into the picture and win a job, but that’s just what Ricky Tiedemann will try to do.
Tiedemann, the Blue Jays’ 2021 third-round pick, is still considered the team’s No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline. But he was No. 1 on that list before the 2024 season, before he eventually underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the ensuing season and a half of action.
At age 23, Tiedemann faces an uphill climb to claim a spot in the rotation at some point this season. However, general manager Ross Atkins isn’t ruling it out.
“Hopefully he’s a factor for us in our rotation,” said Atkins, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. “That’s the plan, but we would be open to him impacting the team in a bulk role or some creative way, depending on how things are going.”
Tiedemann won’t be the only Blue Jays pitcher looking to claim a job from lower down on the depth chart. Bowden Francis, Eric Lauer, and Rule 5 pickup Spencer Miles will try to win jobs in spring training as well.
However, of all the names on that list, the fireballing Tiedemann has the highest upside by far. The Blue Jays undoubtedly still see him playing a big role at some point in the future, but how soon he can do so remains to be seen.
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