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Despite Injury, Ricky Tiedemann Named Top Prospect in Toronto Blue Jays Organization

Baseball America continues to speak highly of the young lefty, who has dealt with health issues throughout his tenure in pro ball.

Brady Farkas

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Tiedemann (70) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park on March 21.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Tiedemann (70) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park on March 21. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
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On Tuesday, Baseball America released their latest top ten prospect list for the Toronto Blue Jays and even despite his injury history, left-hander Ricky Tiedemann assumed the top spot.

The youngster underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season and is slated to miss most or all of the 2025 season, but he will be back in 2026 at the age of 23.

With Chris Bassitt ticketed for free agency at the end of 2025, there's already a potential rotation spot waiting for Tiedemann with the Jays upon his recovery. Beyond the Tommy John surgery, Tiedemann has dealt with other injuries since entering pro ball. He had leg issues that sidelined him last spring training and also only threw 44.0 innings in 2023 because of other arm issues.

He has elite swing-and-miss stuff, as evidenced by his 82 strikeouts in those 44 innings. He threw only 17.1 innings this season, but still struck out 27.

Per Baseball America:

When healthy, Tiedemann does a good job of repeating his mechanics, but he’s struggled with his release point the past few seasons due to health. He mixes three pitches in a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. His fastball sits 94-96 mph with heavy armside run that plays up due to his slot. In 2024, Tiedemann generated less armside run on his fastball compared to previous seasons, possibly a product of his lingering elbow injury. The slider is Tiedemann’s primary secondary weapon.

The Blue Jays finished last in the American League East at 74-88, but after making the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, they certainly have the talent to get back into the mix.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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