Underappreciated NY Mets prospect reminded us why he can be a factor in 2025

Despite being a second round draft pick in 2022, the hype train around New York Mets pitching prospect Blade Tidwell hasn’t been blazing through the station. A successful first full season as a professional in 2023 at 11-6 with a 3.57 ERA, many might’ve got caught up in the numbers. After all, he struggled in Double-A with an even 3-3 record and 4.72 ERA in 8 starts.

A similar thing happened last year. Tidwell pitched well in Double-A then saw his numbers inflate in Triple-A. He was an atrocious 1-9 with a 5.93 ERA in 85 innings of work. One of several promising Mets pitching prospects who struggled mightily last year in Triple-A alongside Dom Hamel and Mike Vasil who is now with the Tampa Bay Rays, Tidwell never seemed to get quite the same respect as they did on prospect rankings lists.

Wherever you may rank him, you know him now. In Saturday’s game against the Rays, two perfect frames including an immaculate inning of 9 strikes on 9 pitches for 3 strikeouts helped remind us all he might be closer to the big leagues than Brandon Sproat.

Mets prospect Blade Tidwell told Brandon Sproat to hold his beer 24 hours after the latter impressed us

Just a day after Sproat delivered an impressive outing, Tidwell upped the ante. The pair are probably the closest of the inexperienced pitching prospects to get a major league start this year, Tidwell maybe only slightly ahead due to having more experience at the Triple-A level. The timing of the MLB debut for either one this year would have more to do with the actual performance at the time of need for the major league club.

The results from Saturday’s start was a promising turn for Tidwell who got knocked around his last time out. In two innings he surrendered 4 hits, 3 earned runs, and a home run while striking out just one. Two brief appearances and fans have been tricked and treated to visions of what Tidwell can do on the mound in the coming season.

Despite being drafted a year ahead of Sproat and having more experience, Tidwell is still a year younger at 23. However, Sproat’s rise was much more prolific last year to the point where if he starts off the season well in Triple-A, he needs to be a consideration for big league innings. Tidwell is someone who could use the extra seasoning in the minors, although continued success this spring and into the regular season for Syracuse should move his timeline ahead.

It’s easy to overreact to anything that happens in spring training games, good or bad. The big takeaway here is how quickly Tidwell rebounded from such a lackluster performance days earlier. The 2024 season was an underwhelming one for him and many Mets prospects. Clearly taking some kind of lesson away after his struggles in outing number one, it’ll be nice to see him get at least one more opportunity before heading down to the minor league side of camp.