Blade Tidwell Readies For First Major-League Start

The New York Mets will turn to a rookie for their first game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Sunday. Saturday’s game was postponed, which resulted in a doubleheader scheduled for the following day. Rookie right-handed starter Blade Tidwell was originally slated to start Sunday afternoon’s game, while Tylor Megill was the starter for Saturday’s game. But, due to the postponement, Tidwell will start Game 1 before Megill toes the rubber in Game 2.

Tidwell, 23 years old, was a second-round pick of the Mets in 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft. The former Tennessee Volunteer had a successful 9 1/3 inning debut across the Single-A level and in the Florida Complex League in 2022, before pitching his first full professional season in 2023 with Brooklyn (High-A) and Binghamton (Double-A). In 2023, Tidwell posted a 3.57 ERA across 116 total innings. He struck out 153, but did walk 63. He was more successful in Brooklyn (3.09 ERA) than with Double-A Binghamton (4.72 ERA).

Unfortunately, in 2024, Tidwell took a step back, as he had a 4.86 ERA across 122 1/3 total innings spanning Double-A and Triple-A. He was electric in Double-A to begin the season, posting a starling 2.41 ERA to go along with 44 strikeouts and only 11 walks across 37 1/3 innings. Following his call-up to Triple-A Syracuse, Tidwell struggled immensely, posting a 5.93 ERA across 85 innings. His strike out rate dropped (77) and he walked 53. The underlying metrics were somehow even worse, as his FIP was 6.44 and xFIP was 5.57.

The reason for optimism, despite the putrid 2024 season in Triple-A is the extremely hitter-friendly nature of the league the Mets’ Triple-A team plays in. The International League (IL) is notoriously a hitter’s league, which usually results in elevated pithing statistics. For example, per Baseball America’s data study on ballpark factors in the IL, Syracuse’s park factors for runs, home runs, and wOBA are all over 103. The runs and home runs factors are 111 and 129, respectively. For reference, 110 is average, so the park that Syracuse pitches in is one of the most offensive-happy in all of the minor leagues.

Thus far, though, in 2025, with Syracuse (Triple-A) once again, the numbers are still not impressive. Tidwell has a posted a 5.00 ERA across 27 innings. However, his underlying metrics are very strong, as evident by a 3.21 FIP and 3.83 xFIP. He also has an above-average strikeout rate (12.33 K/9), decreased his walk rate (3.33 BB/9), and has only allowed two home runs on the season.

Further evidence to just how strong Tidwell has been this year is how electric his secondary pitches have been. Through 27 innings of Triple-A action, Tidwell has thrown five different pitches; four of them at least 14.8% of the time. Of those four, three of them are assigned with a Stuff+ grade above 100. Specifically, his slider (113 Stuff+) and sweeper (119 Stuff+) have graded out elite. His sinker (thrown 19.5%) and changeup (thrown 8.9%) have reached graded out above average in terms of Stuff+ too at 102 and 104, respectively. Velocity-wise, his fastball sits at around 96 mph while his sinker has been around 95 mph. His offspeed stuff ranges from 83.8 mph (changeup) to 85.2 mph (slider).

Any time a player makes a major-league debut it is always exciting. Tidwell entered the season as Metsmerized 15th-ranked prospect. The Mets will get their first look at what the former second-round pick can bring them Sunday in Game 1 of the doubleheader.

Note, Stuff+ number courtesy of Thomas Nestico on X.

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