Texas right-hander Ty Madden is putting the college baseball world on notice.
Coming off a stellar one-hitter over seven frames against BYU Feb. 26, Madden followed it up with a complete game shutout in a 1-0 win at Houston Friday night, striking out a career-high 14 batters in the process.
Madden is simply dazzling right now on the mound for the No. 19 Texas Longhorns. The redshirt sophomore brought his ERA down to 1.65 with a 0.65 WHIP and 30 strikeouts over three starts. He’s quickly establishing himself as one of the premier arms in the 2021 MLB Draft class.
Madden’s repertoire was on full display Friday night. He commanded the zone all game, pounding the corners with an electric mid-to-high-90s fastball that overwhelmed Houston batters, sitting 94-95, touching 97 late in the ninth.
Complementing his smoke, Madden flashed a whippy high-80s slider sitting 86-87 with sharp break and depth against righties. The two pitches form a viscous combination with their tunneling action and separation.
Madden’s changeup is becoming another effective off-speed pitch this season too. He lacked feel for the pitch at times last season, but deployed it a handful of times Friday night with confidence, arm speed and conviction. The cambio had good fading action and fed off his fastball to lefties.
The curveball continues to look like the most improved pitch of his arsenal. The pitch is being commanded far better in 2021 and has sharp diving action late.
But the star of the show early on has been Madden’s impressive command of the zone over his past two outings. At 6-foot-3, 215-pounds, Madden is a really strong-body arm who repeats his operation well. He looks as though he’s taken his game to a near level this year.
Madden is firing on all cylinders, and the stuff is sizzling early on. Opposing batters haven’t found a feel for him in the box, and that may not change anytime soon. If he continues to show strides with his secondaries and maintains this velocity late into the season, you’ll continue to hear his name mentioned amongst the top of the class.
In a draft class filled with elite college arms like Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, LSU’s Jaden Hill and several others, Madden is proving he belongs in the discussion at the very top.