The Toronto Blue Jays have spent the past few series climbing back into the American League playoff race, and their recent surge has made every potential addition to the roster more meaningful.

After series wins against the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees last week, the Blue Jays sat just outside of an AL Wild Card spot, turning what looked like a fading postseason opportunity into new hope for an October run.

Toronto Blue Jays Enjoy Star Debut Amid Winning Streak

The team’s surge has been fueled by a number of young roster additions, but none was more intriguing than the debut of former top prospect Ricky Tiedemann, whose long-awaited big-league outing came after nearly two years away from competitive pitching.

Tiedemann was the Blue Jays’ No. 1 prospect, but then he started battling his own left arm. Elbow issues came, then Tommy John surgery,” Keegan Matheson wrote for MLB.com. “He missed nearly two full calendar years, a long rehab slowed by a couple of setbacks. The hype faded and he has fallen to No. 11 on the Blue Jays’ top prospects list, but again, his talent hasn’t gone anywhere.”

Tiedamann took the mound against the Yankees and struck out two while allowing one run in two-and-two-thirds innings. But his return carried an even deeper meaning because of what was happening away from the ballpark.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Star Prospect Ricky Tiedemann Sends Message On Mother’s Cancer Battle

After taking pictures on the field with his family post-game, Tiedemann made an emotional FaceTime call to his mom, Mimi, who is back home in California recovering from a double mastectomy. She had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and had the surgery last week.

The Blue Jays rookie, understandably, had some strong emotions related to that health scare following his highly anticipated debut.

“She’s doing good,” the pitcher said of his mother in a post-game update, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “They caught it early on and and we're figuring it out. She was watching it on TV… I showed her the field, showed her everybody that was here. It was good. It was special."

The Blue Jays sent Tiedemann back down to the minors shortly after his debut, but it seems likely he could return to the big leagues soon after his debut. In the meantime, his family will continue to watch his star development with great interest, alongside Blue Jays fans.