I was able to catch a few games the week of May 3rd between the Phillies’ and Blue Jays’ Single-A affiliates at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, FL and a few notable Blue Jays prospects stuck out to me. I will follow-up with a Threshers (Phillies’ Single-A) live look at a later date.
Dunedin Blue Jays
LHP Ricky Tiedemann - PL #133; Line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 1 HB, 2 BB, 6 K (Loss)
Tiedemann, Toronto’s 3rd round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, is the pitcher that’s been garnering the most attention from the Dunedin pitching staff, and for good reason. He was named the Florida State League’s Pitcher of the Month for April 2022 after a dazzling start with a sub-1.00 ERA. Tiedemann gave up 2 ER on 5 H in 20 IP in April but had a somewhat high 10 BB in that time. He also struck out 33 batters in those 20 IP.
Tiedemann has a four-seamer that sits mid 90s T97, a changeup (84-86 MPH), and a slider that he uses somewhat infrequently (80-83 MPH). His go-to is the fastball, which he deployed 70% of the time, and he will go to the change as his off-speed for a swinging strikeout.
As a lefty, Tiedemann tends to throw across the plate on righty batters and will cut the inside corner (outside corner on lefty batters) on his fastballs. On occasion, he’ll catch the opposite side of the plate with his changeup since that doesn’t move as much as the 4SFB, and he threw a few errant pitches that got away from the catcher with the change. In fact, a changeup got away from both Tiedemann and his catcher, Juan Gonzalez, which ended up hitting Clearwater batter Hao Yu Lee in the foot.
Tiedemann has a very consistent motion where, over time, batters will be able to time the pitches. Once batters figure him out as he moves through the system, he’ll have to lean on those off-speed pitches a lot more. This is starting to become apparent as May overall has proven to be a little challenging for Tiedemann.
Tiedemann was promoted to High-A Vancouver on May 14.
INF Estiven Machado - Game Stats (between 2 games): 5-for-9, 5 1B, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Machado, or “La Salsa”, as his teammates refer to him, really impressed me with his defense at shortstop.
One play in particular sticks out where Machado had a ground ball hit to him and he could go to 3rd (runner was en route to 3rd) or to 1st. Machado went to 3rd for the out and ultimately saved a run from scoring later in the inning. Quick thinking on his part like this show both confidence and a high baseball IQ and I don’t see a lot of that kind of play made within the FSL since defenders usually prefer going to 1st for the easy out.
Regarding Machado’s defense (or defence I suppose given the Canadian parent organization), he seems to split time between SS and 2B, and told me in an interview that he can play anywhere in the infield. He’s not been utilized at 1B or 3B since Dunedin has other prospects that can fill those roles, but it’s good to know he can help out if an injury were to happen in a game. Machado currently has two errors each at 2B & SS.
Machado has quite a bat as well, despite not showing a ton of power. He went 7-for-15 (.467) in this series, with 2 RBI, and never struck out. His OBP for this series was .500 and his slugging was .533. Most of what Machado hit were singles, but getting hits and getting on-base is critical at this level, especially for a struggling team like Dunedin who is at the bottom of the FSL standings with a 9-18 (.333) record. He has a slightly open stance, and is quite crouched until the pitcher winds up. Machado doesn’t have much of a leg kick. Instead, he has a double toe tap on his outside foot for timing (think Derek Jeter).
Machado has good speed on the bases, scoring easily from 1st base twice in one game on line drive doubles hit by fellow INF Adriel Sotolongo.
INF Rainer Núñez - Game Stats: 2-for-4, 1 1B, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Núñez really isn’t a prospect that’s been catching a lot of attention with a few other bigger names on the team, but in the short time that I’ve seen Dunedin play, I’ve liked what I’ve seen of him.
Núñez hit 4-for-20 (.200) in the 4 games he played in against Clearwater, including a double and a home run. He doesn’t stand out offensively, but Núñez still makes enough impact on the team for his presence to be felt. Núñez is a .300+ batting average hitter and holds a .800+ OPS as well so far this season, and Núñez also held a 10-game hit streak to start the 2022 season.
Núñez has a neutral, relaxed stance (neither open nor closed) and can hit for power with his relatively compact swing. In the below video, this single by Núñez had an exit velo of 107.3 MPH. Núñez is also a bit of a slow runner and doesn’t launch himself from 1st base as quickly as I would like to see.