Mariners Potential Draft Profile: Ty Madden – RHP – Texas

The MLB Draft is coming up on July 11th, and we are all curious to find out who the Mariners are going to take. We wrote about Harry Ford, the high school catcher from Georgia earlier in the week. The last few years, they have gone with pitching. They could go that route once again by taking a look at Ty Madden, an RHP from Texas.

Likely, Ty Madden won’t be there at 12 for the Mariners. It isn’t a crazy stretch or hope to see him there though, as he has been mocked around 10 by a handful of reputable sites. If he slips to the Mariners, it’s going to be hard for them to pass on him. They would be in an incredible spot come 2024 with a rotation containing Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Emerson Hancock, and Ty Madden.

Ty Madden would fit right into the Mariners rotation.

A good-sized righty, Madden is 6’3″, and has added a fair amount of weight to his previously scrawny frame, and now sits at 215. This is far from a case of a player being lazy and adding weight, as the pounds he has put on have led to an increase in strength, which you can see from his fastball velocity and increased stamina.

He sits in the mid-90s and is pushing 100 on occasion, having touched 99 multiple times. It’s a great fastball, receiving a grade of 60, due in part to not just the velo, but the late movement as it approaches the plate. It’s unsure if that’s even his best pitch, as his slider has received a grade of 60 as well, and seemed to be the best offering he had this season. He throws it hard as well, sitting mid/high 80s with a good amount of late movement.

He pairs that with a changeup that’s a bit slower, low 80s, that falls off at the end. His top three pitches all have late movement, which could lead to a lot of weak contact and a quick path to the majors. He does have a big and slow curveball that sits in the 70s, but it’s easily his #4 pitch in his arsenal.

He’s been great throughout his entire career at Texas, but the two recent years have been borderline special. In the shortened 2020 season, he threw 25 innings with 26 K’s, giving up just five earned runs. This season, he threw 113.2 innings in 18 starts (averaging 6.1 innings) with a K rate of 10.8 per 9, an ERA of 2.45, and a WHIP of 1.047. With a bit more control, he could be dangerous, although he already has a 55 grade.

Ty Madden comes in as the 4th pitching prospect in this year’s draft. If the teams ahead of the Mariners decide to go with hitting, there is a real chance that he could fall to them at 12. If he does, it would be a steal for the Mariners and another bullet for the chamber of what could be a dangerous rotation in years to come.