Ricky Tiedemann's Talent Remains Center Stage During Rehab Assignment

Ricky Tiedemann has spent most of the past three years preparing to pitch instead of actually pitching.

On Sunday, the Toronto Blue Jays sent the 23-year-old left-hander back to Single-A Dunedin for another rehab assignment. The transaction represents another small step toward the Majors, but for Tiedemann, simply returning to a mound carries significant weight.

Injuries have repeatedly interrupted a career that once seemed to be on the fast track to stardom.

Tiedemann broke out in 2022 with 117 strikeouts across 78.2 innings and eventually climbed to No. 29 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list. He appeared positioned to become part of Toronto’s rotation before his body began taking away the innings his talent had earned.

Shoulder soreness and a biceps injury limited him in 2023. Hamstring and calf tightness followed in 2024 before elbow inflammation led to Tommy John surgery that July. Tiedemann missed the remainder of that season and all of 2025, then dealt with left elbow soreness after returning to camp this spring.

His first rehab appearance came June 16, ending a 706-day absence from game action. Two appearances later, discomfort around his neck and shoulder required injections and halted his progress again. Now, Tiedemann is beginning the rehab process once more, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.

It's real, it's here.

Ricky Tiedemann, back on a rehab assignment with Single-A Dunedin.

If his body can cooperate for a while, the talent is there and he's still just 23. #BlueJays https://t.co/WxvhB2Dg2k
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) July 26, 2026

The Cost of Lost Time

Ricky Tiedemann throws a pitch in the first inning of a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers at TD Ballpark. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Prospects usually learn where they stand through performance. They succeed, struggle and adjust until the game reveals whether they are good enough. Tiedemann has rarely received that opportunity.

His career has instead been shaped by medical examinations, throwing programs, and the uncertainty of whether another dull ache will erase months of progress. The hardest part has not been learning that professional hitters can beat him or that his arsenal may not dominate at the highest level. It has been repeatedly losing the opportunity to compete against them at all.

Before surgery, Tiedemann reached the point where he could not throw without thinking about his elbow instead of how to retire the hitter.

“I can’t even throw right now without thinking about this,” Tiedemann recalled in an interview with Sportsnet.

After completing 17 months of rehabilitation, he described facing hitters again as “refreshing.” Tiedemann admitted he had not fully recognized how long he had kept his head down until teammates celebrated the end of the process with him.

That relief did not last long. The spring elbow soreness and later neck issue forced him back into the same routine he believed he had finally escaped. Yet, Tiedemann is picking himself back up and trying again.

The Blue Jays protected him on their 40-man roster last November because the talent is still there. His fastball can reach 98 mph, and Toronto can still evaluate him as a starter, reliever, or closer if his body finally allows his repertoire to develop on a regular schedule.

Those evaluations can wait though. Tiedemann first needs innings, repetition and the ordinary challenges every young pitcher must experience and overcome.

His latest rehab assignment will not restore the time Tiedemann lost or guarantee him a Major League future. It will give him another chance to prove what he can do. Toronto will be focused on determining how much of his potential remains while Tiedemann will be focused on returning to the thing he has spent years fighting to do.

Pitch.

Add us as a preferred source on Google