Mets prospect shines in season debut; could call-up be coming?

Mets No. 16 prospect Blade Tidwell kept the Triple-A Worcester lineup off balance in his first start of the 2025 season.

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

Though Clay Holmes' Opening Day start did not reflect his strong spring performance, one of the New York Mets’ top pitching prospects carried his momentum from camp into his first start of 2025 with Triple-A Syracuse.

In Friday’s minor league season opener, Mets No. 16 prospect Blade Tidwell stifled a Worcester Red Sox lineup featuring two of MLB's top-ranked prospects—Roman Anthony (No. 2) and Marcelo Mayer (No. 12)—along with several others with big league experience.

Over five innings, the right-hander allowed just one run on one hit—a third-inning double by Nathan Hickey, who later scored on an RBI groundout by Anthony. Tidwell reached 98 mph on the radar gun, throwing 41 of his 62 pitches for strikes. He exited his season debut with five strikeouts and one walk.

Mets prospect Blade Tidwell in his season debut for Triple-A Syracuse against a Worcester lineup that feature Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and a ton of guys with MLB experience:

5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 62 pitches/41 strikes

Fastball was up to 98 mph

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 28, 2025

Tidwell, 23, was drafted 52nd overall out of Tennessee in 2022. Though his stuff has always been impressive, the 6-foot-4 righty has experienced mixed results in the minors, mainly due to his inconsistent control.

In 26 outings (22 starts) split between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse last season, Tidwell struck out 22.6% of the batters he faced but also walked 12%. He posted a 1-9 record, 5.93 ERA, and 1.57 WHIP over 85 innings with Syracuse in 2024, causing him to drop eight spots in MLB Pipeline’s Mets prospect rankings going into 2025.

However, Tidwell’s command has been on point since spring training began. He notably tossed an immaculate inning on March 1, retiring three big-league veterans—Josh Lowe, Eloy Jiménez, and José Caballero—on just nine pitches.

While the data on Blake Tidwell’s immaculate inning was not correct — he didn’t get nine swinging strikes — it’s still impressive for a prospect to sit down three big league veterans on nine pitches. https://t.co/fOkqkkC0Lo

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 1, 2025

After that outing, Tidwell told MLB.com’s Adam Berry that he addressed his command issues by narrowing his pitch arsenal to five: a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, “gyro” (bullet-spin) slider, sweeper, and changeup. Last year, he had a nine-pitch mix but decided it was better to master five pitches than rely on nine "average" ones.

In addition to Tidwell, Syracuse’s pitching staff features other top Mets prospects like Brandon Sproat (No. 1) and Dom Hamel (No. 26). Despite injuries to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea testing their depth early, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has emphasized the importance of seeing “significant” success from the team’s young arms at Triple-A before entertaining a big league call-up.

Read More: Seven New York Mets minor league arms to watch in 2025

This means that, at least early on, veterans like Justin Hagenman and Brandon Waddell are more likely to be called upon if additional injuries impact the Mets' rotation. Once Paul Blackburn (knee) returns from the 15-day injured list, the former All-Star will likely move to the bullpen but also provide starting depth.

Both Blackburn and Manaea could return sometime in April, which should allow the Mets to avoid rushing the development of their up-and-coming arms. That said, if Tidwell continues to string together outings like Friday's, he could compel the Mets to call him up to the majors sometime later in 2025.