Detroit Tigers Rookie Pitcher Continues to Shine in First MLB Action
It's an exciting time for the Detroit Tigers right now as they close out this year fully embracing a youth movement.
Giving their young stars an opportunity to play every day at the Major League level has resulted in this team performing the best they have all season, turning into one of the hottest clubs in the league coming down the stretch.
When it comes to the short-term, there isn't much to be gained from this because they are longshots to get into the playoffs, but when building towards the future and attempting to put their rebuild behind them, this is an even greater result than they might have expected.
Of course, these performances are coming when there isn't a ton of pressure on them to play well, so there still should be some caution used when making grand statements about the viability of the Tigers heading into 2025.
One thing is clear, though, there are multiple young players on Detroit's roster who look like they could become stars for years to come.
What the Tigers need to focus on the most going forward is finding legitimate starting pitchers to pair with their ace, Tarik Skubal, at the top of their rotation.
There are plenty of young players in this organization who could become that during their careers, so this is the time to show the front office and coaching staff they should get opportunities next season as they chase a division title and playoff appearance.
One of Detroit's top prospects who was promoted to close out the year is Ty Madden.
The No. 32 overall pick in the 2021 draft has had a rapid ascension, making it to the Majors in just his third season of professional baseball.
With a career 4.30 ERA across his 74 minor league outings that included 73 starts, there were some questions if the 16th-ranked prospect in their pipeline would be a viable option when making the leap to the MLB.
Well, Madden has been impressive in his first two outings so far, giving up only three earned runs in nine innings that included retiring 12 of the first 13 batters he faced on Monday before three straight hits to begin the eighth inning ended his night.
The 24-year-old has caught the attention of his teammates during his short time in the bigs.
"I thought he looked great. He was getting a ton of soft contact against a good team. I think he was great, and he's going to keep building on that," fellow rookie Colt Keith said about Madden according to Shaun O'Neill of MLB.com.
With continued performances like this, he will certainly be given an opportunity to prove he should be part of the Opening Day rotation depending on how aggressive the Tigers are in the offseason.
BRAD WAKAI