While the New York Mets have plenty of exciting hitting prospects in their farm system, the pitching side could use some work. The Mets have dealt away a ton of pitching prospects in recent years, including J.T. Ginn and Justin Dunn, while Matt Allan is still a ways away from the majors after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The good news is that the Mets did add some intriguing arms in the 2022 draft, including Blade Tidwell, who is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
Tidwell, the Mets’ second-round pick out of Tennessee, helped the Volunteers reach the College World Series as one of the anchors on their pitching staff. Scouts love Tidwell’s fastball, which sits between 93-96 miles per hour and can get as high as 99. Tidwell also has a good mix of secondary pitches, including a slider, a sinking changeup and a curveball. That arsenal should allow Tidwell to remain a starter over the course of his development, a key development for a Mets’ farm system that is a bit light on starting pitching prospects.
The Mets had Tidwell begin his professional career in rookie ball before quickly bumping him up to Low-A St. Lucie. Tidwell has made three brief appearances for St. Lucie, pitching to a 3.38 ERA in 5.1 innings, and has racked up four strikeouts against six walks thus far.
The plan for Tidwell, as it is for most college pitchers, is to limit his innings this season after his heavy workload for the Volunteers. The Mets will use the remainder of the 2022 campaign to get Tidwell’s feet wet before starting him out again at St. Lucie in 2023. The key to how fast Tidwell can progress through the farm system is his command, particularly on his secondary pitches. The good news is that the Mets have a pretty solid big league rotation right now as well as the ability to augment it in free agency thanks to Steve Cohen’s checkbook so Tidwell will have all the time he needs to reach his full potential.
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