Blue Jays top prospect Ricky Tiedemann embracing first big-league camp experience

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Ricky Tiedemann delivered the pitch to his target.

“There it is,” Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah called out from behind him.

“Thatta boy,” said Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen, who received the ball.

Tiedemann, the promising lefty, drew a crowd during his side session on Friday under the covered mounds at the player development complex. Among the usual onlookers were Toronto’s pitching coaches and a few trainers. Fellow pitchers were also paying close attention, including Manoah.

When Tiedemann finished throwing, he walked toward Jansen for the customary post-side-session hug. The two began debriefing and soon were joined by a couple of Jays coaches and Manoah, who could be seen gesturing with his hands as he spoke to the prospect.

After rocketing up Toronto’s minor-league system in 2022, Tiedemann is at his first big-league camp this spring. His invite wasn’t just a polite gesture, either. He’ll get an opportunity to pitch in Grapefruit League games and the Blue Jays are eager to see him continue to progress.

The 20-year-old’s odds of breaking camp with the big-league team will be slim. He’s still got to prove himself in Triple A. But the real reward for Tiedemann over these next few weeks will be the chance to soak up all the knowledge he can from the major-league pitchers he’s surrounded by, such as Manoah, who not that long ago was a rising prospect himself, primed to break out.

“It’s my first year, so I just want to learn from them and hopefully talk to a lot more of them and take what they have and carry on with it in my next few years,” Tiedemann said about the way he’s approaching his first camp.

Drafted in the third round — 91st overall — in 2021, Tiedemann began last year in Low A and quickly rose the ranks to finish in Double A. He had a 2.17 ERA across the three levels and struck out 117 batters in 78 2/3 innings before he was shut down due to his innings limit. Going into his second professional season, Tiedemann is Toronto’s top young arm and was their sole prospect on this year’s batch of top-100 prospect lists across the industry, including The Athletic’s, where he ranked No. 47.

Both Jansen and Manoah were aware of Tiedemann’s potential, but Friday was the first time either had seen the left-hander pitch live. Both described his three plus-pitches as “electric.”

“The fastball comes out hot and doesn’t seem to really be straight, which is a good thing — it’s got some ride, it’s got some run on it,” Jansen said, adding he heard it was hitting about 96-97 mph on the radar gun. “The action was great on his changeup, you could tell it’s a pitch that he’s always had. It’s a good feel pitch for him. Then his slider was the same thing, it’s a good pitch.”

Throughout the bullpen, Jansen said Tiedemann wanted him to set up in certain spots so he could work on filling up the zone with strikes. “He had a plan of what he wanted to do with things, which is great to see, as well, especially for a young guy,” Jansen said. After the bullpen was over, Manoah shared tips with Tiedemann on how to stay locked in on his spots.

“His raw talent, it’s unbelievable, his stuff is unbelievable,” Manoah said. “That was the message to him, ‘Hey, your stuff’s really unbelievable, let’s just create little cues that get you around the plate a little bit more and just go attack.”

It was only two years ago, in 2021, that Manoah had his breakout performance at Blue Jays’ camp. That set the stage for his major-league debut in May of that year after only a handful of Triple A starts. He’s since developed into a pillar of Toronto’s rotation, coming off a stellar sophomore season in which he had a 2.24 ERA and finished third in American League Cy Young voting. Manoah sees similarities between his own quick rise up the organization and Tiedemann’s.

“He’s the kind of guy that’s really going to help us in the long run with depth and kind of similar to me, can come up and really make an impact,” Manoah said. “For myself, I know that I had some guys helping me in my first big-league camp, so just want him to know I’m there to help him out and I’m invested in everything that he’s trying to do and (to) get better. I look forward to him helping us.”

“He definitely skyrocketed very quickly through the organization,” Tiedemann said of Manoah. “That’s something that obviously any pitcher wants to do. So just listening to what he has to say is very important to me and other pitchers, as well.”

The experience of a first big-league camp could seem overwhelming but Tiedemann said he’s comfortable in this environment. “Just go out there have fun and stay loose,” he said.

By contrast, the 2022 season was a bit of a whirlwind for Tiedemann, going from Dunedin to Vancouver to New Hampshire. “It was a lot in a short amount of time,” the pitcher said, but he enjoyed meeting so many new people and took the cross-continent moves in stride, trying to treat every new level the same. He established consistent routines on and off the field,  something he had no idea about when he was drafted. He maintained his strength throughout his first tour through pro ball, a challenge for young players adjusting to the everyday schedule.

Tiedemann’s talent on the mound is obvious, but the Blue Jays have been especially impressed with his drive to improve and the professionalism he’s shown. He spent a good chunk of his offseason in Florida, working out at the team’s facility and manager John Schneider said he’s noticed how he’s been embracing camp so far.

“He’s taking it all in, but he’s not wide-eyed by any means, which is awesome,” the manager said. “(I’m) just impressed with him so far, not only the stuff on the mound but the conversations that he’s having with the staff.”

After his breakout season, Tiedemann said he hopes to pitch deeper into games and maintain his consistency in both his routines and on-field performance. Expectations are high on him and it’s not unrealistic that he could be in the majors at some point this year assuming he continues to excel in the minors. It would be a fast progression for a player who was pitching in junior college two years ago, but general manager Ross Atkins said it’s not about tamping down expectations for Tiedemann, but rather focussing on the process.

“And he is as focussed on it as any young player out there,” Atkins said.

(Top photo of Ricky Tiedemann: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)