Now healthy, at long last, Ricky Tiedemann is starting to look like himself again.

The oft-injured 23-year-old lefty — who missed all last season due to Tommy John surgery — is back pitching in actual games, having now made a pair of Single-A rehab appearances following a recent shutdown due to neck/shoulder soreness.

Tiedemann, working exclusively as a one-inning reliever this season, tossed a hitless frame with one strikeout on seven pitches (all strikes) in his latest rehab outing on Wednesday — the second he’s made with Dunedin since returning from the injured list. He punched out the final batter he faced on a 97.4-m.p.h. fastball, his hardest of the night.

Of Tiedemann’s seven pitches, four were fastballs — which averaged 96.5 m.p.h. — two were sweepers, and one was a changeup. The left-handed reliever made this appearance on three days’ rest, a benchmark he’s now accomplished twice in 2026.

Between a pair of Single-A and Florida Complex League games each, he’s compiled four innings total this season, allowing just one run on three hits and zero walks while striking out seven.

Tiedemann, selected in the third round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021, has seen his development derailed by multiple injuries over the years, limiting him to just 17.1 innings in ’24 before undergoing season-ending surgery and 44.0 innings in ’23. Both were significant declines from the 78.2 frames he logged across 18 starts between Single-A, High-A and Double-A four years ago.

Coming off TJ surgery, the organization had already planned to limit his usage to short-inning stints entering this season, and that was before he was shut down back in the spring with elbow soreness. Shortly after returning to action in June, the once highly-touted pitching prospect was forced to press pause two outings into his initial rehab assignment, landing back on the shelf after receiving injections to address his neck and shoulder discomfort.

But now that Tiedemann is healthy again, he’ll have a legitimate shot at making his major league debut before this season concludes — assuming he avoids any further setbacks, that is. In a one-inning role, he could advance through the system quickly en route to returning to Triple-A — where he threw 13.0 career innings pre-TJ surgery — and ultimately emerge as a September call-up candidate.

For a Blue Jays club headed towards an uneventful stretch run, it’d provide an ideal, stress-free landing spot for Tiedemann’s big-league arrival.

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