Could this oft-injured Blue Jays prospect make his return this year?

While Blue Jays farm system has been a bit weak over the past couple years, one of the team's prospects who's gotten plenty of attention has been Ricky Tiedemann. He's been dominant in the minor leagues when he's healthy, but his progress took a big hit last year when he underwent Tommy John surgery in July.

Tiedemann was only able to get 20 innings under his belt last year before suffering the injury, but it looks like there's a chance that he could make his return this year. That should be music to Toronto's ears, as he's a talented left-handed pitching prospect who still has a bright future.

He boasts an above-average fastball and changeup, and seems destined to be the next great ace of the Blue Jays' rotation — if he's able to stay healthy.

Ricky Tiedemann is a prospect to watch out for this year for the Blue Jays as he makes his return from surgery

Tiedemann hasn't pitched much since the Blue Jays took him in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft. His best season came in 2022 when he had a 2.17 ERA in 78 2/3 innings across three different minor league levels.

He finished that year with a K/9 of 13.39 and a WHIP of 0.86. He also held batters to a .148 average against along with a stellar walk rate of 9.6%.

In 2023, Tiedemann posted an ERA of 3.68 with a K/9 of 16.77 and a WHIP of 1.23 across three minor league levels. His walk rate rose to 12.4% and opponents hit .193 against him. These numbers are still good, but showed that hitters were starting to get on base against him more.

He entered 2024 as the team's No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline, but struggled with injuries all year. He went on the injured list in late April with ulnar nerve inflammation in his left elbow before leaving his first Triple-A start with forearm tightness that ultimately resulted in him having Tommy John.

Tiedemann has battled injuries all season, which is unfortunately nothing new for him. He first hit the IL in late April with ulnar nerve inflammation in his left elbow, and after finally working his way back to Triple-A on July 10, he left his first start after just one inning with some tightness in his left forearm.

While he'll likely not be able to make a return in 2026, he's not counting out an earlier return.

“It’s always as soon as possible,” Tiedemann told the Canadian Press' Gregory Strong. “I don’t have a date set in my mind. It’s more how I’m feeling right now. I don’t want to look too far ahead. When you look too far ahead, you forget how things are going right now.

There's no denying that the Blue Jays need Tiedemann to work out He's a talented left-handed starter who would raise the ceiling of the future of Toronto's rotation.

As of now, it seems like he's doing everything in his power to make that happen.

“We’ll just take it as it comes with him,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, per Strong. “We would love for him to get back and pitch. This is an important time for Rick in his career. You want him to get out and get those experiences and get the reps."