Minor League Baseball

New York Mets Prospect Blade Tidwell Tosses Immaculate Inning in Spring Training

Blade Tidwell, ranked as the No. 2 pitcher and No. 8 prospect in the New York Mets' farm system, tossed nine pitches and nine strikes in a 1-2-3 second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Sam Connon|
Jupiter, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Blade Tidwell (94) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Jupiter, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Blade Tidwell (94) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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New York MetsTampa Bay Rays

Blade Tidwell was dealing right out of the gates on Saturday, achieving a historic feat in the process.

The 23-year-old prospect drew the start for the New York Mets in their spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays, opening his afternoon by facing All-Star first baseman Yandy Díaz. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Tidwell forced a flyout to center.

From there, Tidwell was untouchable.

The 23-year-old right-hander proceeded to strike out All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe on three pitches before doing the same against left fielder Christopher Morel to close out the inning. In the bottom of the second, he notched three consecutive three-pitch strikeouts against former Silver Slugger winner Eloy Jiménez, right fielder Josh Lowe and third baseman José Caballero.

The end result was an immaculate inning for Tidwell, who hadn't even noticed what he had accomplished.

"I didn't realize I had one until after I got back in the dugout," Tidwell told reporters, admitting he found out via social social media.

There have only been 115 immaculate innings recorded in an MLB regular season or postseason game. There were six in 2022, two in 2023 and two in 2024.

Nolan Ryan and David Cone are the only Mets pitchers ever to toss an immaculate inning that actually counted, doing so in 1968 and 1991, respectively.

MLB Pipeline had Tidwell ranked as the Mets' No. 8 prospect at the end of 2024, making him the No. 2 pitcher in their farm system. He was New York's second-round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft.

Between Rookie leagues, Single-A, High-A and Double-A, Tidwell went 13-11 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.236 WHIP and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2024, only to go 1-9 with a 5.93 ERA, 1.565 WHIP and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Tidwell showed just how good he could be against big league talent on Saturday, though, so it may not be long before he gets a shot on the Mets' active roster.

New York went on to beat Tampa Bay 10-1 on Saturday. Tidwell got credit for the win.

Related MiLB Stories

  • TAYLOR, SEYMOUR SHOW POP: The Rays may not have completed the comeback against the Pirates on Friday, but top prospects Brayden Taylor and Bob Seymour impressed in the clutch. CLICK HERE
  • JUDGE MAKES SPRING DEBUT: In his first spring training game of the year, New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge slapped a two-RBI single through the left side. CLICK HERE
  • SIRI TAKES REVENGE: The Rays traded Jose Siri to the Mets over the winter, only for the outfielder to go deep against them in a spring training game. CLICK HERE

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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