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Mets pitching prospect Blade Tidwell throws immaculate inning

Mets pitching prospect Blade Tidwell threw the rare immaculate inning in his second start of the spring on Saturday against the Rays.
Jake Brown|
Mar 1, 2025; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; New York Mets pitcher Blade Tidwell (94) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning during spring training at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Mar 1, 2025; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; New York Mets pitcher Blade Tidwell (94) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning during spring training at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

Pitching prospect Blade Tidwell carved up the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday in his second start for the New York Mets in spring training.

Tidwell was striking out opposing batters at a high-rate in his latest outing. But the most impressive feat from Tidwell's day came on nine pitches, nine strikes and three strikeouts. This of course was the right-hander notching a rare immaculate inning in the bottom of the 2nd inning in Port Charlotte.

The immaculate inning also came against lineup regulars for the Rays in Josh Lowe, Eloy Jiménez and José Caballero. It capped off a two-inning, five-strikeout, 16-pitch, hitless outing for Tidwell, who is expected to start the season in Triple-A Syracuse.

The 23-year-old needed a bounce back performance after giving up three runs on four hits against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.

Following his start, Tidwell told reporters that he didn't find out he had thrown an immaculate inning until he checked Twitter/X after exiting the game.

Tidwell is an arm to watch in the Mets farm system following 2024 No. 1 prospect Brandon Sproat. Sproat and Tidwell could both potentially find their way to the big leagues this season if the Mets suffer any additional injuries to their pitching staff.

Read More: Mets' top prospect Brandon Sproat shines in Spring Training debut

Like Sproat, Tidwell also struggled in Syracuse last year after pitching well in Binghamton. The 2022 second-round pick out of the University of Tennessee went 1-9 with a 5.93 ERA over 17 starts at the Triple-A level.

In addition to starting, Tidwell has experience in relief as well. The Mets' bullpen is solid on paper, but it's certainly possible that Tidwell could earn a spot as a reliever in 2025 if he impresses in Triple-A this year.

As for Sproat, the former Florida Gator looks destined to be an ace at the major league level. The Mets appear to be in good hands for the future with promising hurlers such as Sproat, Tidwell, Nolan McLean, Jonathan Pintaro, Jonah Tong and more.

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Jake Brown
JAKE BROWN

Jake Brown is a contributor for the Mets On SI, Fantasy Sports On SI and Savannah Bananas On SI sites. Jake has been covering the Mets over the past decade at various outlets. He currently hosts the "Mets Daily" show on YouTube. He also hosts live streams on his own social channels @jakebrownlive. Jake previously co-hosted the New York Post "Amazin' But True" Mets podcast with former pitcher Nelson Figueroa from 2020-2023 and the "Mets Magic" podcast in 2024. He also was a Mets columnist at WFAN from 2018-2020. Prior to that, Jake hosted several podcasts at CBS Radio and was a host on AM1240-WGBB on Long Island. He's made guest appearances on WFAN, PIX11, CBS Sports Radio/Infinity Sports Network, SiriusXM Radio, ESPN Radio and various other outlets around the country. You can find Jake at Citi Field often enjoying Mets baseball, while filming stadium food reviews. You can follow Jake on Twitter/X, Instagram and TikTok @jakebrownlive.

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