Toronto Blue Jays' Manager Reveals Plans For Top Prospects Heading into 2024
Toronto Blue Jays' manager John Schneider revealed the 2024 plans for top prospects Ricky Tiedemann and Orelvis Martinez this week.
Per Jon Morosi of MLB.com:
Blue Jays prospect notes:
-- John Schneider said the team has a general idea of Ricky Tiedemann's projected workload for 2024; the club would love to optimize those innings in the majors (once he's ready).
-- Orelvis Martínez, 22, will focus on 2B this spring.
Tiedemann is the No. 1 prospect in the organization and the No. 29 prospect in all of baseball. He is the No. 6 pitching prospect in the sport.
The hard-throwing lefty pitched in the Futures Game at least year's All-Star week but dealt with injuries throughout the season that limited him to just 44.0 innings overall. The California native went 0-5 with a 3.68 ERA. However, his stuff is tantalizing. He struck out 82 batters in just those 44 innings.
If and when he's ready to contribute at the major league level, it's unknown where the Blue Jays will need him. The team has five starters coming into spring training but if there's an injury or Alek Manoah struggles, Tiedemann could slot into the rotation. Perhaps with the swing-and-miss he possesses, he could help in the bullpen at the outset.
As for Martinez, he enters the year as the No. 89 prospect in all of baseball. While third base might be his long-range position, it makes sense that the team wants him to work at second base. Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider and Santiago Espinal represent the options for Toronto there and Martinez could have a chance to supplant them by season's end.
He hit .243 last year across levels with 28 home runs and 94 RBI.
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