Blade Tidwell, Photo by The Knoxville News-Sentinel
With the 52nd overall pick, the New York Mets have selected Blade Tidwell, a right-handed pitcher out of Tennessee. In what was their first of two picks in the second round, the Mets took a pitcher that was ranked #27 heading into the Draft by MLB Pipeline.
After using their first two selections on position players, the Mets have added to their pitcher depth with Tidwell who was once thought to be a potential top-1o pick before shoulder issues put him on the shelf. Despite those concerns, the righty returned to the mound in late March for Tennessee and got his fastball back up to 99 MPH. There are concerns about his durability and his command and control still haven’t returned to pre-injury levels.
However, the book on Tidwell appears to be that should he be able to fully recover from his shoulder issues, then he possesses electric stuff with two elite pitches. He certainly has plenty of upside and his mid-80s slider elicited whiffs more than 40% of the time this spring. There’s certainly a lot to like about Tidwell and the Mets were able to get a clear First Round talent early in the Second.
Again, a lot of Tidwell’s future success depends on his health. If his shoulder problems are fully behind him, then many Draft experts project the righty to develop into a legit power pitcher that can slide into the middle of a rotation. The Mets may want to work with him on developing another pitch to pair with his fastball and slider
This is what Baseball America had to say about Tidwell:
“His go-to secondary is a mid-80s slider with high spin rates in the 2,500-2,800 rpm range that has generated whiffs more than 40% of the time this spring. Tidwell used the slider more than 30% of the time, and went to a firm, mid-80s changeup less than 10% of the time this spring, though his results on the pitch—in terms of results and whiffs—were solid. Tidwell has also thrown a mid-70s curveball but uses it infrequently. While Tidwell has powerful stuff from a big and physical, 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame, scouts believe he needs to refine his command. His walk rates have been solid throughout his college career, and he throws enough strikes to profile as a starter, but he will get scattered within the zone and some teams might think he fits better as a two-pitch, high-octane reliever. Tidwell’s shoulder injury adds to the risk of his profile, but there’s plenty of upside here as well.”
Keith Law of The Athletic said this about Tidwell:
“Tidwell started the year on the shelf with what the team termed a “significant shoulder injury,” but returned to the mound in late March and made several starts for the Vols, showing the kind of stuff that made him a potential top-10 pick before the shoulder issues. Tidwell has been up to 99 and regularly sits 94-97 with a solid-average slider that’s 81-87, short but often with tight enough break to elicit chases out of the zone. His command and control are both below average, and he’s had more trouble as he’s gone deeper into games, with 10 walks in 17 innings over his last five SEC outings. Tennessee has used Tidwell judiciously, never pushing him past 14 outs, but that also leaves the question of his durability unanswered. If you think he can start, and that the shoulder issue is not serious, he’s a clear first-rounder, maybe even landing in the top half of the round.”
This is from FanGraphs on Tidwell:
“A prototypical power pitcher, Tidwell has a big, broad-shouldered frame, a mid-90s fastball, and a biting slider for which he has consistent, glove-side feel. His changeup feel is much less consistent, but Tidwell will occasionally flash a plus one, and he was only a true freshman in 2021 and missed a chunk of this season with a shoulder injury, so there’s arguably more changeup projection here due to present lack of reps (he threw just about 40 innings in his draft year). Tidwell’s shoulder injury and his somewhat violent delivery are a little bit scary. The quality of his fastball strikes tend to be mixed, and he’s more of an in-zone bully than someone with precise command. This, combined with the shape of his fastball, makes him vulnerable to in-zone contact more than you’d guess from someone sitting 95 mph. His slider command is much more consistent. Though a little less stable than some of the other college pitchers, Tidwell has a more traditional build and mechanical look. He has mid-rotation ceiling.”
And this is a taster of what Mets fans can come to expect to see from Tidwell:
It has been a busy start to the 2022 MLB Draft for the Mets who took catcher Kevin Parada with the 11th overall pick, before selecting shortstop Jett Williams with the 14th overall pick. Before tonight, the last time the Mets used their first two Draft picks on position players was in 2014 when they selected Michael Conforto (OF) and Milton Ramos. Metsmerized’s Dillip Sridhar provided the lowdown on Parada, and Anthony Caraturo of Metsmerized gave the skinny on Williams.
Baseball teams don’t tend to draft for need, they go for the best player available and the Mets have been able to add three high-end prospects to their farm system with another pick to follow tonight. It has certainly been a good start to the 2022 Draft for the New York Mets.
