Mets Minor League Mailbag: What is Blade Tidwell's ceiling?
SNY contributor Joe DeMayo answers fan questions in this edition of the Mets Minor League Mailbag...
From @allan_pritchard: What do you think is the realistic chance that Nolan McLean could legitimately be a two-way prospect? Thanks for the best podcast I listen to. All the best.
First off, Allan, thank you for listening to The Mets Pod. Shameless plug to be sure you subscribe to The Mets Pod wherever you get your podcasts, and you can watch each episode on SNY’s YouTube channel.
The Mets will allow McLean, their third-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and SNY’s No. 22 prospect in the system to enter pro ball as a two-way player. I am not sure if this means he will hit every day he doesn’t pitch, but he will get an opportunity to do both.
As a hitter, he has plus raw power, having hit home runs at Oklahoma State north of 450 feet. However, that comes along with an unsustainable strikeout rate of over 37 percent in his final year of college. He will have to adjust to professional pitching and trim that strikeout rate down or I suspect the offensive aspect of his game will not last a long time.
Most evaluators believe his future is on the mound, where the Mets will send him out as a starting pitcher in 2024. They have some recent success in converting college relievers into professional starters -- notably Tylor Megill, Christian Scott and Tyler Stuart. McLean will need to work on his control and command, as well as establish a reliable third pitch to have starting potentially become a reality.
I personally look at him as a future two-pitch power reliever who could have closer potential. He has a fastball that will sit in the mid-90s and touch 98 mph, with a wipeout swing-and-miss slider. He is working on a curve ball and changeup in pro ball.
From @alvarezmet4life: The main pitching spotlight for what seems to be months now is Christian Scott. What happened to Blade Tidwell? Is this a case of "too many good prospects?" What are things he needs to improve on?
In short, Scott jumping Tidwell in my prospect rankings had little to do with anything Tidwell did wrong, but more the huge strides that Scott made in 2023.
The Mets are still very high on Tidwell, my No. 8 prospect, who might have the most upside of any starter in the system.
Fans got a look at Tidwell if they were able to watch this past Friday's spring training game against the Cardinals. The baseline stats don’t look great, as he allowed three runs in 1.2 innings. However, if you watched, it was a lot of weak contact and there was one miscommunication on a check swing ground ball from Paul Goldschmidt.
Aside from that, Tidwell had a game-leading seven swings-and-misses and touched 97 mph on the radar gun. He also struck out big leaguers Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman and Nolan Arenado while showcasing six different pitches, according to Statcast.
Spring training for pitchers is largely about experimenting, so I would not expect Tidwell to be utilizing all those pitches come the regular season. He will primarily focus on a three-pitch-mix: a fastball that will touch 98 mph during the summer, a low-80s slider that will be in the 2,800 rpm range and is a big strikeout pitch for him, and a split-change that he uses primarily against left-handed hitters.
If Tidwell can continue development of that third pitch as well as his control and command, he could be a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. If not, he has future late-inning reliever written all over him.
From @aninsanemetsfan: Outside of the main three pitching prospects closest to MLB (Scott, Vasil, Hamel), which Mets pitching prospect most excites you?
I will leave Tidwell out of the discussion too as I just spoke on him above.
I have heard rave reviews on the early returns on 2023 second-round pick Brandon Sproat. The Mets drafted Sproat for the first time in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft, but he opted to return to Florida for his senior season at that time.
Sproat has an unteachable trait, and that is being able to touch 101 mph. At Florida, he primarily threw a two-seam fastball that did not have ideal shape to it, but the Mets are transitioning him into primarily utilizing a four-seam fastball where the shape looks better.
In bullpen sessions, he has been up to 19 inches of induced vertical break on his fastball, which is a very encouraging number to alleviate pitch shape questions.
Sproat pairs his fastball with an above average changeup as well as a slider that flashes plus but needs more consistency. The control can come and go at times, leading some scouts to believe his future is in the bullpen.
However, if the Mets can get him to average control, the stuff could profile as a mid-rotation starter. He should start with High-A Brooklyn and as an older prospect, he could move through the system quickly.
