Mets pitching prospect Blade Tidwell allows two runs in Triple-A debut
After receiving a promotion to Triple-A earlier this week, the No. 8 prospect on SNY's Top 30 list, Blade Tidwell made his highly anticipated debut with Syracuse on Thursday evening.
The right-hander had some hiccups with his command but otherwise fared relatively well against the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Tidwell issued a pair of walks in the bottom of the first, but his first Triple-A strikeout on a nice cutter up in the zone helped him get out of the inning, and sparked a stretch of eight consecutive batters retired.
Oscar Gonzalez broke up that run by crushing a first-pitch cutter to left center for a solo homer in the fourth, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre threatened for further damage with two on and two outs, but the righty rebounded nicely and escaped the inning with another punch out.
Tidwell appeared to be ending his night on a high note after retiring the next five hitters in order, but a Taylor Trammell two-out single followed by a Luis Torrens walk resulted in his departure from the contest. After Danny Young entered and allowed an RBI single, Tidwell finished with a final line of two runs on three hits while walking four and striking out three across 5.2 innings of work.
While the second-round pick didn't quite put up the dominant numbers he's been delivering for the Double-A Rumble Ponies, he still fared relatively well in his debut at the next level. The adrenaline also appears to have been flowing, as Tidwell's velocity was up a tick from his norms, averaging 95.7 mph on his fastball and topping out at 97.5 mph.
With David Stearns and the Mets' aggressiveness in calling up prospects, Tidwell could potentially find himself in Queens during the second half if he dominates his way through Triple-A.
