Blue Jays: Ricky Tiedemann's so-so second outing is necessary to reel in expectations

By now we are all conducting the Ricky Tiedemann hype train, and rightfully so.

The 20-year-old southpaw has been absolutely electric in every level Blue Jays fans have seen him in, including in his big league Spring Training debut.

When he took the mound for his first outing in 2023 Spring Training, it felt like the entire baseball world had eyes on the broadcast. One of the fastest movers in the minors and best left-handed pitching prospects in the game of baseball was about to show off to the world why his name has so much hype surrounding it.

All the hype around Ricky Tiedemann after today's outing was surrounded his FF and rightfully so. But the best pitch in his arsenal is his changeup. MLBPipeline grades it as 70. It produces 35 inches of VB and 17 HB, which would be in the upper tier class of MLB. Ace. #bluejays pic.twitter.com/mxE78F1AfJ
— Damon (@VARSH0W_) February 28, 2023

Tiedemann absolutely, 100 percent delivered on the hype in his first outing. Not only did he hit 99mph on the radar gun (for the first time EVER), but he also struck out two batters and limited Detroit Tigers hitters to no hits on just 12 pitches.

So, naturally, fans of the Blue Jays expected him to be unhittable in every single outing moving forward.

On Tuesday in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tiedemann took the mound for the second time in spring. While he didn't look "bad" by any stretch of the imagination, it may be good that he looked mortal on the mound so fans can temper expectations a bit.

His final line on the day had him going two innings, surrendering three base hits, allowing two earned runs (one home run), walking a batter and striking out two. Again, not bad at all, but the perfect prospect looked imperfect on the mound.

He also picked off a runner at first base to end the fourth inning on an immaculate throw to first base.

Not the start Ricky Tiedemann was looking for.

Some hard contact and a single to McCutchen. Laser two-run HR by Carlos Santana (PTSD from October). Another base hit. #BlueJays top prospect is getting the big boys in this Pirates order. Time to battle adversity.
— Ethan Diamandas (@EthanDiamandas) March 7, 2023

Many around Blue Jays Nation were looking for Tiedemann to break camp on the Opening Day roster, a classic overreaction. We're all guilty of Spring Training overreactions, but this simply was never a legitimate possibility. As great as it would be to see the shiny new toy in the big league rotation, let's reel in the expectations a bit.

Instead, the No. 32 prospect in all of baseball per MLB.com is likely ticketed for a spot in the starting rotation of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. All signs point to him continuing to dominate in the minor leagues, so the plan should still be for him to perform well in the minors and make it to The Show by the end of the 2023 season, even if it's as a high-leverage long reliever.

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