Reese Kaplan -- Sometimes Great Pitching is Highly Unexpected

With all of the hot takes on Brandon Sproat from the media, including whether or not he’s a top of the rotation player for the near future, other pitching prospects are not getting perhaps the accolades nor publicity reserved for the inevitably chosen one. 

That media blackout hit “not anymore” expressway on Saturday when Blade Tidwell reminded people why he was a hot pick when the Mets were planning for their starting rotation future.  He did two innings during which he struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced (including a perfect inning).  People were wondering who is this guy and where has he been?

Well, to tell you the truth, it’s been an up and down set of performance metrics once Tidwell began his climb to the majors.  His three seasons of college pitching earned a 3.53 ERA.  His pro numbers descended from there with a career 4.14 three year back-of-the-baseball-card output.  He is walking way too many people (4.9 per 9 IP) but is also striking out 10.9 over the same number of innings. 

His best minor league stint thus far has been as a rookie when he combined to deliver a season’s worth of 1.93 ERA pitching.  That stellar debut was quickly curtailed by his second season which combined for 3.57 which isn’t bad but you note his numbers were worse when he reached Binghamton. 

Then came his aggregate work in 2024.  He seemed to master the formerly challenging Binghamton when he managed over 7 games to deliver a 2.16 ERA and seemed to get his walks under control.  Then came Syracuse and he finished the year with a 1-9 record, a 5.93 ERA and he forgot how to strike people out.  He had almost pitched himself out of the future until facing Tampa on Saturday. 

Obviously the pitching lab, minor league pitching coaches and others in the organization need to determine which Blade Tidwell is the real one.  He’s turning 24 this season and is fully expected to return to see if he can finally adjust to AAA. 

Also dominating against the Rays was another forgotten hurler from a less than impressive minor league resume, Dom Hamel.  He owns a 4.61 ERA over 4 minor league seasons and in 2024 with Syracuse he 509 with a 6.79 ERA.  Ouch!  His problem also seems to be control while he gives up way too many free passes.  Yet against Tampa he threw a pair of scoreless innings with three strikeouts.  Where did THAT come from?

So while your look down into Syracuse baseball stats may not fill you with a great deal of confidence for the future, it’s still good to see folks with few expectations come up to challenge major league hitters in preseason ballgames.  Later in the year we will be looking long and hard at Brandon Sproat who soared up to AAA perhaps prematurely, but the little shown thus far in Florida suggests that yes, he is going to be a front line starting pitcher in the near future.