Tiedemann resumes rehab, touches 97.7 mph in scoreless inning at Single-A

BOSTON -- This has been a long time coming for Ricky Tiedemann, the Blue Jays’ No. 10 prospect who we’ve barely heard from in nearly two years.

It had been 706 days between Tiedemann’s last Minor League appearance in 2024 and his first rehab appearance this season, back on June 16. One outing later, though, Tiedemann had some neck discomfort and received injections, leading to another month on the shelf.

Now, finally, Now, finally, Tiedemann is resuming his rehab with the Tommy John surgery behind him. In what the Blue Jays hope will be the final "start" of a rehab assignment for the gifted 23-year-old, he made an appearance Sunday with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays.

This is what you need to know:

How did he perform?

Tiedemann allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning on 18 pitches. He looked sharp, too, averaging 96.4 mph with his fastball with a peak of 97.7 mph.

Results don’t matter much at this point for the lefty, but still, you can call this one a success. His best pitch of the afternoon came on a 97 mph fastball, up and in on a left-handed batter for strike three.

What’s next?

Tiedemann’s early outings will be planned out, likely including several days in between. Step one comes tomorrow, when Tiedemann begins to recover from this one. From there, he needs to get back into the groove of throwing, recovering and repeating that process over and over.

Eventually, the Blue Jays would like to jump Tiedemann from Dunedin back up to Triple-A Buffalo. He is expected to remain in this bullpen role for now, pitching in shorter stints. Given Tiedemann’s injury history, that seems to be the likelier role for him long-term, at least until he can reestablish himself.

What are they saying?

Back in Spring Training, Tiedemann sounded like a young pitcher with a new lease on life. He looked more like a pitcher, too, after spending a couple of years looking like an NFL linebacker.

Tiedemann is still built big and strong, but he’s learned over the years that pitching isn’t just a strength game. He’s developed in this sense, both physically and mentally.

“You see a lot of guys who are wiry and lanky, or they’re big guys, but you’ll never see a guy who is shredded out there year-round,” Tiedemann said back in February. “It’s not what a pitcher does to stay out there. Finding that out and finding the right weight where I feel easy, efficient and athletic -- and just staying healthy -- that’s the biggest thing. I did gain weight before I got hurt and I felt really strong, but I wasn’t as quick or as efficient or as smooth as I should have. Now, I [am].”

What else?

Tiedemann is on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, added last November to protect him ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. This is important, even with August and September in mind.

If the Blue Jays sell at the Trade Deadline and are no longer competitive in September, that opens the door to anyone and everyone on the 40-man.

A lot needs to go right between now and late September for Tiedemann. Given that he’ll be built up carefully, let’s call the “rehab” portion of this at least another month, taking us into late August or even early September. Tiedemann also needs to be pitching and recovering well from each outing ideally with shorter gaps in between. If all of that goes right, the odds are higher than 0%, at least, that we see a glimpse of Tiedemann in late 2026.

If nothing else, though, Tiedemann setting himself up for a “normal” offseason would be a great step. He hasn’t had one of those in a few years, and would once again be one of the most interesting arms in camp next spring.