Blade Tidwell

Blade Tidwell
New York Mets
Pitcher
Born: (2001-06-08) June 8, 2001 (age 22)
Columbia, Tennessee
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Janzen Blade Tidwell (born June 8, 2001) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Mets organization.

Amateur career

Tidwell attended Loretto High School in Loretto, Tennessee, where he played baseball and was teammates with Ryan Weathers.[1][2] In 2019, his junior year, he was named Tennessee Mr. Baseball after going 8-0 with 107 strikeouts alongside batting .557.[3] He played only one game during his senior season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

In 2021, as a freshman for the Tennessee Volunteers baseball team, Tidwell was inserted into their starting rotation.[5] He finished his freshman season starting 18 games and going 10-3 with a 3.74 ERA and ninety strikeouts over 98+2⁄3 innings.[6] He was named to the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team after the season alongside teammate Drew Gilbert.[7] Tidwell entered the 2022 season as a preseason All-American and a top prospect for the upcoming draft.[8] He missed the beginning of the season dealing with shoulder soreness.[9][10] After missing Tennessee's first 24 games, he made his season debut in late March, pitching one inning in relief.[11] He made his first start of the season on April 5 in a 5-1 win versus Lipscomb.[12] He finished the season having appeared in 13 games (making nine starts), going 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 51 strikeouts over 39 innings.[13]

Professional career

Tidwell was selected by the New York Mets in the second round with the 52nd overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[14] He signed with the team for $1.8 million.[15][16]

Tidwell made his professional debut with the rookie-level Florida Complex League Mets and was promoted to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets after one game.[17] Over 9+1⁄3 innings pitched for the season, he went 0-1 with a 1.93 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and seven walks.[18]

Tidwell was assigned to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones to begin the 2023 season.[19] In late June, he was promoted to the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.[20] Over 25 starts, Tidwell went 11-6 with a 3.57 ERA and 153 strikeouts over 116 innings.[21]

References

  1. ^ Kreager, Tom (May 10, 2019). "Tennessee Mr. Baseball finalists: 9 SEC recruits, LSU football signee Maurice Hampton included". The Tennessean.
  2. ^ "Spring Fling 2019: State championships story lines". The Tennessean. May 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Patton, Maurice (May 21, 2019). "Mustangs' dominance continues". Daily Herald.
  4. ^ Thomas, Craig (June 10, 2020). "Loretto grad and Tennessee signee Blade Tidwell keeps eye on MLB draft". TimesDaily.
  5. ^ Thomas, Craig (June 17, 2021). "Loretto's Blade Tidwell eager for College World Series experience with Tennessee baseball". TimesDaily.
  6. ^ Wilson, Mike (October 4, 2021). "What to know about Tennessee baseball at the start of fall ball". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  7. ^ Krull, Jesse (July 13, 2021). "Tennessee's Drew Gilbert, Blade Tidwell showcasing skills with College National Team". WJHL-TV.
  8. ^ Venkataraman, Karthik (January 31, 2022). "Two Tennessee players named preseason All-Americans by Baseball America". WBIR-TV.
  9. ^ Wilson, Mike (January 28, 2022). "Tennessee baseball ace Blade Tidwell sidelined with shoulder soreness". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  10. ^ Anderson, RJ (January 30, 2022). "2022 MLB Draft prospect Blade Tidwell to miss start of season as pitching class suffers another injury". CBS Sports.
  11. ^ Wilson, Mike (March 31, 2022). "What is Blade Tidwell's role for Tennessee baseball after debut against Western Carolina?". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  12. ^ "All-American Blade Tidwell makes his starting debut in Vols 20th-straight win". WJHL-TV. April 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "2022 Tennessee baseball: Blade Tidwell by the numbers". Sports.yahoo.com. 19 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Mets' Blade Tidwell: Scooped by Mets". Cbssports.com. 18 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Tennessee players who signed contracts following 2022 MLB draft". Sports.yahoo.com. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Mets agree with Tidwell, Morabito, Reimer". MLB.com. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Blade Tidwell assigned to St. Lucie". 21 August 2022.
  18. ^ "Blade Tidwell Stats, Fantasy & News".
  19. ^ "Mets' Blade Tidwell: Promoted to High-A for 2023". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  20. ^ "Mets' Blade Tidwell: Moving to Double-A". 30 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Deep Dive on Blade Tidwell, who has stuff and swagger of front-line starter".

External links