The Detroit Tigers are set to debut their latest rookie, 24-year-old right-hander Ty Madden, who will be the 10th player to make his major league debut for the team this season. Madden is slated to start in Monday night’s series finale against the Chicago White Sox, who are struggling after a 9-4 loss to the Tigers on Sunday.
Madden’s call-up serves a dual purpose. The Tigers selected Madden as the 32nd overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, and with the offseason approaching, they needed to add him to their 40-man roster before mid-November to protect him from being claimed by other teams in the MLB Rule V draft. But more immediately, the Tigers are on a hot streak, having won 10 of their last 13 games, including the first three games of this series. This surge has brought them within one game of .500 and kept their slim playoff hopes alive, as they remain 7½ games out of the final American League wild-card spot.
Madden’s stats this season might raise some eyebrows—he’s 3-5 with a 6.98 ERA over 22 starts in Double-A and Triple-A. However, one of his minor league catchers, Dillon Dingler, who is also new to the Tigers this season, has seen Madden’s ups and downs firsthand. Dingler explained that Madden had some trouble with his secondary pitch location, which led to overexposure of his fastball. Despite these challenges, Dingler noted Madden’s strengths, particularly his ability to locate his fastball and adjust his other pitches effectively.
While Madden has issued 43 walks this season, he’s also struck out 124 batters. Encouragingly, in his last four starts, Madden has shown significant improvement, walking only five batters and striking out 37 over 24 innings.
“A lot of it with Ty is being able to use his pitches correctly,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “The split has come along. The breaking ball has come along. The fastball is a continued work in progress. It’s about making adjustments from delivery to usage, and he’s been working hard on that.”
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox have been dealing with their own set of challenges. Sunday’s loss marked their 100th of the season, making it back-to-back years with triple-digit losses. The White Sox have become historically bad, joining the 1916 Philadelphia A’s as one of the few teams in the modern era to lose at least 100 games within the first 131 games of a season.
“Everyone in that locker room is aware of the record and how frustrating it is. Absolutely,” said interim manager Grady Sizemore. Chicago has now lost seven of their last eight games.
On the mound for the White Sox on Monday will be right-hander Davis Martin (0-2, 3.22 ERA). Martin is making his fourth consecutive start and fifth appearance overall this season. He struggled in his last outing against the San Francisco Giants, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings, taking a 4-1 loss. However, in his two prior starts against Oakland and the New York Yankees, he allowed just one run over a combined 12 innings. In his three career appearances against the Tigers, including two starts, Martin has a 1-1 record with a 2.08 ERA over 17 1/3 innings—all from the 2022 season.
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