Detroit Tigers to Promote Former First Round Pick for Major League Debut
The Detroit Tigers are expected to have a rookie at the helm to close out their series against the Chicago White Sox.
Reaching down to Triple-A Toledo, the Tigers are calling up right-handed pitcher Ty Madden for his MLB debut per Evan Petzold of Detroit Free Press.
Madden was the No. 32 overall selection in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft. He's grown to be the No. 16 player in the Detroit farm system, per MLB pipeline.
While it may not have been as fast or as definitive of a rise as many people might have hoped for, he is now set to make his debut after a shaky couple of weeks in the minors.
The 24-year-old is expected to take the mound for the closeout game of the series against the White Sox on Monday. There are worse offenses around the league to be tasked with pitching against in a debut.
During his three years of college ball with the University of Texas, he showed a lot of promise.
He made 30 starts across 37 appearances over three seasons and worked his way to an impressive 2.59 ERA. He wasn't an overwhelming strikeout pitcher and had a bit of a walking issue, but was solid overall. Madden didn't give up many hits which kept his WHIP down at 1.122 despite the walks.
He's mostly a fastball-slider focused pitcher, but has a couple of other pitches he's improving in his arsenal. He could become either a two-pitch reliever or a four-to-five-pitch starter.
Whatever pitches he decides to throw, he'll need better results than what he's put out over the past couple of months.
Madden has made 18 starts for the Triple-A squad this season and has a 7.97 ERA. He's given up at least three runs in each of his outings since July 4. In seven of his starts, he gave up five or more runs.
Churning out a good couple of outings at the MLB level could make life a lot easier for the Tigers. He's set to become Rule 5 draft-eligible after this season. Keeping him stashed on the 40-man rotation would be a lot easier if they can trust him in the big leagues.
Someone with an ERA almost reaching 8.00 at Triple-A, and then getting shelled in the MLB, would be hard to justify stashing at this point of his career, but he'll at least get an opportunity to showcase what he can do in The Show on Monday.
DYLAN SANDERS