Anyone familiar with the Blue Jays’ 2023 season knows that they had as much success as they did because of pitching and defence. The 1-4 spots in the rotation, as a group, were as good as any in baseball, better than many. Hyun-Jin Ryu made 11 starts for the Jays after undergoing Tommy John surgery mid way through the 2022 season.
Ryu is free agent eligible and while it is always possible he could re-sign with Toronto, my best educated guess is that he will be wearing a different uniform in 2024. He will be 37 years old on opening day 2024 and while I don’t envision him getting anything close to the 4 year, $80 million contract he got from the Jays four years ago, someone with his pedigree won’t be dirt cheap either. The Jays have over $60 million coming off of their books (including Ryu’s $20 million) but their biggest needs are boosting their offensive production. It is possible that both the Jays and Ryu could have interest in a reunion, but I don’t see them matching up in terms of money and term for him.
Assuming Ryu does not come back next season, the Jays will be in need of a 5th starter. Even looking beyond 2024, Toronto’s rotation will look a bit different each season. Yusei Kikuchi is free agent eligible after 2024, Chris Bassitt is free agent eligible after 2025 and Kevin Gausman is free agent eligible after 2026. Having a young, home grown talented pitcher who could, at some point, become a solid MLB starter would be a definite plus.
Tariq Leni Tiedemann (who goes by “Ricky”) was drafted by the Blue Jays in round 3 of the 2021 amateur draft. Once he became part of the Jays farm system, his development accelerated quickly. In 2022 at age 19, he spent time at 2 minor league levels. After 6 games with the low A Dunedin Blue Jays, he had a 1.80 era. He moved up to advanced A ball with the Vancouver Canadians for 8 games and a 2.39 era. Tiedemann finished the 2022 season with 4 games at AA and a 2.45 era.
When the 2023 season began, there was some talk of Tiedemann possibly being on the fast track to MLB. If he hadn’t missed significant time due to injuries, he might already have seen his first taste of major league action. As it is, he pitched in 44 innings in 15 games in four minor league levels. Presumably the organization wanted him to get additional work so he pitched in the Arizona Fall League in four games. Even though his participation in the AFL ended weeks before their season did, his dominance over batters earned him the AFL’s pitcher of the year award.
The 21 year old LHP is the currently the Jays number one ranked prospect, 31st in MLB. One thing that makes Tiedemann so exciting is his dominance of hitters at any level he has played professional ball. His K/9 has been double digits at every level. He has an average of 14.6 K/9 over two minor league seasons and 11.5 K/9 in his 4 games in the Arizona Fall League.
Tiedemann features a fastball, slider and changeup, all of which are rated as above average pitches by scouts.
While I’m not necessarily expecting him to break spring training camp with the Blue Jays, it’s exciting to think about what his future could be. As with any athlete, Tiedemann’s health is key. If he stays healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a solid part of the rotation by the end of the 2024 season.