Minor League Baseball

New York Mets Calling Up Top Pitching Prospect Blade Tidwell For MLB Debut

Blade Tidwell, the No. 15 prospect in the New York Mets' farm system, is reportedly lined up to make his first big league start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Sam Connon|
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.
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. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

New York Mets pitching prospect Blade Tidwell is set to make his MLB debut against the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend.

The Mets have Clay Holmes and Tylor Megill penciled in as their probable starting pitchers for Friday and Saturday's contests in St. Louis, but no one locked in for the finale. Manager Carlos Mendoza previously mentioned using a spot starter in the series, potentially lining Tidwell up to fill that role on Sunday.

Daniel Wexler was first to report the move before it was confirmed by several other outlets.

Tidwell, 23, was the Mets' second round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He is currently ranked as the No. 15 prospect and No. 5 pitcher in New York's farm system.

After spending spring training with the Mets, Tidwell opened the regular season with Triple-A Syracuse. He is 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA, 1.333 WHIP and 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings through six starts this year.

Tidwell ranks 10th in the International League in FIP and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio, all while carrying the third-highest BABIP.

The last time Tidwell took the mound, he held the Worcester Red Sox off the board through 4.0 innings. He wound up allowing four earned runs in the fifth, but he had given up three singles and nothing else before that sketchy frame last Sunday afternoon.

New York needed a spot starter on Wednesday, ultimately turning to reliever Huascar Brazobán as an opener. Journeyman Brandon Waddell was also called up to serve as a long reliever in that game, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings before getting sent back down to the minors.

The Mets still have a while before Paul Blackburn, Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea return from the injured list, so Mendoza may have to keep patching things together in the rotation for the time being. Tidwell will be his latest fix, even if it is likely to be a short-term role for the young right-hander.

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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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