3 Blue Jays prospects who are expendable, 2 they should keep for 2025

Expendable: P Ricky Tiedemann 

For the Jays’ consensus No. 1 prospect across the industry in 2023, Ricky Tiedemann had an outstanding debut season in 2022 in which he advanced through three minor league levels. Over 18 starts, Tiedemann posted a 5-4 record with a sensational 2.17 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, giving up just 19 earned runs and 3 home runs all year, together with 29 walks and 117 strikeouts in just 78.2 innings pitched. He was so dominant that many were wondering if the Jays actually had the next Roy Halladay in their hands.

However, the subsequent two seasons has turned into somewhat of a nightmare for the 22-year-old left-hander. In 2023, Tiedemann primarily played for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats where over 11 starts, he compiled a dismal 0-5 record with a 5.06 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. But his dominant strikeout ability was still evident, as he fanned 58 batters in just 32 innings of work. However, over two months of his season was wiped out by a left biceps inflammation ailment, severely impeding his overall growth and development.

For this past season, things actually went from bad to worse despite Tiedemann getting the promotiom to the Triple-A level. He would only appear in eight minor league games in total, amassing a 5.19 ERA and 1.67 WHIP with 27 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched. His season would be cut short as he underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow to repair his UCL. With two consecutive years filled with inconsistency and injuries, Tiedemann saw his rankings in the MLB Top 100 Prospects list fall from his high rank of #32 in 2023 to completely off of the list by the end of 2024.

From the way things have been developing for Tiedemann, he appears to be painfully heading towards Nate Pearson territory, with injuries derailing what was supposedly a promising career ahead of them. As of now, Tiedemann still sits in the No. 4 spot in the organization’s top prospects list according to MLB Pipeline, so comparatively he still holds some tremendous value. As a result, rather than risk losing him later with diminished value, the Jays should fully take advantage of that while they still have the chance and use him as the centrepiece for any potential major trades that could help address the team needs.