Ty

Madden

Neither right-hander had a realistic shot at cracking the team’s Opening Day roster, so there are no surprises here. Madden, 26, will open the season in the rotation at Triple-A Toledo. Both hurlers should have an opportunity to pitch for the Tigers at some point during the 2026 campaign.

Madden was facing mostly regulars, too, and he made quick work of them, throwing just 21 pitches today. The 26-year-old Madden missed all of 2025 with a shoulder strain suffered in spring training, and he’s well down the Tigers’ rotation depth chart at the moment. He’d have more of a chance of contributing as a reliever, but the Tigers will probably have him start games in Triple-A initially.

Nothing has changed in Madden’s outlook, this was merely done as a procedural move to free up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster for the addition of Brewer Hicklen on Friday. Madden is still in the process of working his way back from a right shoulder strain that he suffered early in spring camp.

The hard-throwing right-hander sustained the shoulder injury during the first few weeks of spring camp. There’s still no clear timeline on exactly how long he’ll be shelved for, but expect the Tigers to exercise caution. It’s also unclear if he’ll join the rotation at Triple-A Toledo once he is ready to go, or if the Tigers plan to deploy him out of the bullpen in a multi-inning role.

The injury will all but assuredly keep Madden out to begin the start of the 2025 season. The 25-year-old could be a multi-inning option for the Tigers before the campaign comes to a close, but shoulder issues do have a tendency to hang on for longer than their welcome.

Madden had pitched well in his last few outings as a bulk hurler, but after Tyler Holton fired two scoreless innings, Madden struggled in the fifth while allowing the three runs. The 24-year-old could work again as a bulk guy next week, but there’s more risk than reward in his profile — even with a chance to qualify for a win.

Once again Madden pitched behind an opener in Beau Brieske, and once again he was effective in that role. Just not effective enough to get a win with Corbin Burnes silencing the Tigers bats Saturday. After putting up atrocious numbers in the minors, Madden now has a 2.55 ERA and 13/5 K/BB over his five appearances. It seems unlikely Detroit will change things up, and Madden will be worth streaming consideration whenever he pitches again. It’ll likely be a rematch with Baltimore next Sunday.

Madden came in after Beau Brieske threw a scoreless inning as the “starter.” Madden certainly looked like a starter in this game, giving up just the one run on five hits with one walk and showing off some swing-and-miss stuff. Madden had ugly numbers in the minors, but he has been strong since being promoted by Detroit with a 2.57 ERA and 10/4 K/BB over four appearances. He’ll likely work again against the Orioles over the weekend.

Madden reeled off four straight scoreless frames before giving up three straight hits to open the eighth inning, which led to his removal from the contest, and a pair of runs crossing the plate shortly afterwards. The 24-year-old prospect has looked pretty sharp in a pair of outings since getting the call last week to Detroit. He doesn’t possess overpowering stuff, but he’s done a decent job avoiding hard contact so far, leading to a respectable 3.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 3/3 K/BB ratio across nine innings (two appearances, one start).

Madden gave up four hits, walked three and struck out two. It was his first major league start. Madden had been struggling in the minors this season with a 6.98 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 124 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings over 22 starts between Double-A and Triple-A. The former first round pick by the Tigers in the 2021 MLB Draft figures to get a long leash in the rotation for the rest of the season with Detroit desperate for healthy starting pitchers. The 24-year-old rookie right-hander is set to face the Red Sox at home this weekend.