NAME: Ty Madden
SCHOOL: Texas
POSITION: RHP
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’3″, 215 lbs
B/T: R/R
D.O.B.: February 21, 2000
PREVIOUSLY DRAFTED: Kansas City Royals, 2018 – 34th round (1022 overall)
SCOUTING REPORT
Ask any scout to build the ideal pitcher frame and profile, and odds are he or she will build Ty Madden. At 6’3, 215 lbs, Madden has the physical looks of a workhorse starter, and his arsenal of a strong, upper 90s fastball and a hard slider give him some tantalizing tools. That was, however, not always the case.
Madden pitched his high school ball for Cypress Ranch High School in Texas, as a teammate of White Sox second round draft pick Matthew Thompson and Tampa Bay first-rounder JJ Goss, who were both drafted in 2019. Though Madden was a good pitcher for Cypress Ranch, he did not fly up draft boards in 2018 the way Thompson and Goss did a year later. The Royals made a feeble attempt in the 34th round of the ’18 Draft, but Madden opted to uphold his commitment to the University of Texas. This turned out to be an excellent decision.
Madden pitched in 15 games in 2019, eight of which were starts. At 19 years old, he struck out 37 batters and walked 24 in 42.1 innings (3.40 ERA). Despite decent results, Madden’s stuff was less than impressive at the time, and the walk rate was a definite problem. With a fastball in the 90-92 mph range and a good-not-great slider, Madden had to rely on his control, which eluded him at times.
During a stint in the Cape Cod League, several small alterations to his delivery led to an overall improvement in the statistical department, most notably with regards to the walk rate. As opposed to his High School days and his Freshman year with Texas, Madden slightly shortened his arm path and started putting more emphasis on his lower half, leading to improved control and a slight uptick in velocity, to 93-94 mph. In Cape Cod, he struck out 28 and walked just 12 in 27 innings.
Madden worked hard all off-season and showed up in 2020 as a pitcher possessed. Using his improved delivery and arm strength, as well as a more repeatable overall throwing motion, the right-hander broke out of the gate like a bat out of hell. With his fastball now in the 94-95 range and much improved control and command over all his offerings, Madden started four games in the abbreviated pandemic season, ending with 25 innings pitched, 26 strikeouts and a mere four walks, good for a 1.80 ERA and 0.88 WHIP.
The true breakout followed in 2021, with Madden sitting comfortably in the 95-96 mph range and topping out at 98 mph in-game and 99 mph in bullpens. In 13 starts so far this season, Madden is 6-3 with a 2.55 ERA and a 98:29 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 81.1 innings. The downside of the fastball is its below average RPMs and limited movement. Missing his spots can get Madden in trouble quickly, though he has also proved to be able to pitch his way out of it. Oddly enough, his slider RPM is above average and he can throw it around 10 mph slower than his fastball. The hard break of the breaking ball and good velocity gap between the two pitches make it an ideal combo.
Rounding out the arsenal, Madden employs a slightly above average curveball and below average changeup, both pitches with room for improvement over time. In the end, he may have to completely ditch the changeup, because as it stands, it is not truly a viable offering. Big league hitters will destroy the belt-high beach balls he will throw up there every now and then. This, as well as the somewhat upright approach to pitching, might deter teams from picking Madden early, but he’s a no-doubt first rounder and could end up in the first ten picks.
SCOUTING GRADES
These scouting grades are from mlbpipeline.com. Madden’s grades probably fluctuate across publications.
FASTBALL: 60
CURVEBALL: 50
SLIDER: 60
CHANGEUP: 55
CONTROL: 55
OVERALL: 55
PROSPECT OVERVIEW AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
There is a lot to like about Madden’s profile as it is. With his across-the-board improvements over the last year and finally breaking the 10.00 K/9 in 2021, Madden is certainly one of the better college arms available in this year’s draft. His ability to learn quickly, find flaws and fix them, and improve drastically in a short period of time bode very well for his pro career. As opposed to some of his top-10 predecessors who made it to the big leagues within a year or two of being drafted, Madden may take a little longer to turn the front-of-the-rotation capabilities scouts see into a viable big league starter. If he continues his development the way he’s done between early 2020 and now, the ceiling is high for the Texan fireballer.
MOCK DRAFTS
In their most recent Mock Draft ($), Baseball America projected Madden to the New York Mets at #10. Prospects Live followed suit, as did our own James Fox in FutureSox’ most recent Mock Draft. MLB.com takes it one step further and projects Madden to be snagged up by the Nationals at #11. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel hears that teams in the 8-14 region are not enamored with the verticality of Madden’s pitching, and he drops the right-hander to the Cardinals at #18. Bleacher Report is highest on Madden, tabbing him for 8th overall to the Rockies.
POTENTIAL FIT WITH WHITE SOX
The White Sox’ tremendous track record with drafting and developing pitchers would obviously make Madden an excellent fit with the organization. The fact that the right-hander was a high school teammate of current farm arm Matthew Thompson would indicate that the White Sox have seen plenty of Madden as well. It may very well all be moot though, as the White Sox will not have their first pick until slot 22. By that time, Madden will already have been scooped up by another team.
Photo credit: University of Texas Athletics
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