For Ty Madden, the idea of being a professional ballplayer became real when he landed in Detroit Sunday night and the Tigers had a car there waiting for him.
"I was like alright, this is the real deal now," said Madden, widely viewed as one of the steals of the draft at No. 32 overall.
It became official when he signed a $2.5 million contract with the Tigers on Monday at Comerica Park -- and then stepped out onto the field for the first time.
"It’s awesome. I’ve never been here before and it’s giant -- that plays to my favor," Madden said. "But it’s beautiful and I hope to throw here soon."
He shouldn't have to wait long. The Tigers view Madden as a pitcher who can move quickly through the system. He turns 22 this winter and just finished a dominant junior season at Texas, including two strong starts in the College World Series against eventual champion Mississippi State. He's not far from a rotation in Detroit that features 24-year-olds Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal and 23-year-old Matt Manning.
That was the message Madden received Monday in his first meeting with A.J. Hinch and Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter.
"He came down and spent some time with Fet and I just talking baseball and his season," said Hinch. "We watched him in the College World Series and were very excited to get him at the point of the draft where we did. I told him to look around because the pitching staff we have is about his age. He can be a fast-mover if he throws strikes and adapts to the pro game as well as we expect him to. He’s a high-end talent who's going to be a part of what we’re doing moving forward."
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Mize and Skubal were both drafted by the Tigers out of college in 2018 and made their big-league debuts in 2020. So Madden could be here as soon as 2023, assuming good health and strong numbers in the minors. He called the Tigers the "perfect organization for me" the night he was drafted and echoed that sentiment Monday.
"I just think you see it with the rotation now, that they really advance college pitchers," he said. "I believe this organization is heading in the right direction."
Madden posted a 2.46 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings this season, by far the biggest workload of his career. The Tigers will send him to Lakeland for a little work this summer before turning the focus toward next season. That's when his journey to Detroit begins in earnest.
"The key for us now is to make sure that he doesn’t focus so much on the next couple of months as much as he does getting himself ready for next season and a high workload," said Hinch. "We just talked about how much he’s going to throw this summer, which may not be a lot. But getting him into the pro game and teaching him a routine is going to trigger hopefully a successful ramp into pro ball."